How to Train Your Fiance
by Username1.4
Summary: Hiccup finds herself sailing over to Dunbrough after agreeing to marry Queen Eleanor's son. She'll be leaving everyone she knows and loves behind. Everyone, of course, except her best friend Toothless. When she arrives there, she finds a hot-headed red head who wants nothing but his freedom, and, of course, a cursed monster bear. Fem!Hiccup x Male!Merida COMPLETE!
1. Getting Engaged

**Chapter 1**

Queen Eleanor was going through the mail, like she normally would have on any other normal day. A couple of the letters were sure to be pure gossip, just some news that needed to be spread. Of that, she was sure. But, secretly, those letters were her favorite to read. Stories and the like were much more interesting to read about than all the threats from the kingdoms whose princesses were insulted by her son.

Eleanor sighed. Her son, Maraud. She couldn't understand where she went wrong with him. She had trained him like her mother had taught her brother, but her brother had never rebelled so extremely like Maraud did. Eleanor was running out of time, out of options. She needed Maraud to wed, but there were only so many princesses, and Maraud made all of them hate him with a passion. In fact, it had gotten to the point where Eleanor was sure all the princesses gathered together and formed a club to discuss why they hated Dunbrough's prince.

Eleanor sifted through the letters and picked out the promising ones. She skimmed through the first letter. Then read it again, more carefully. Her eyes widened, and she read it yet again. She ran to Fergus, her husband, and had him read it. She needed to be sure that the letter said what she thought it did. She needed confirmation that her desperate mind hadn't fabricated a story to give her a false sense of hope.

"Yes, Dear, this Hiccup Horrendous, she sounds like quite the charming princess. But why are you so excited?" Fergus asked, confused, at his wife's overwhelming happiness.

"Oh, Fergus! She hasn't heard of us! Hasn't heard of Maraud! And her tribe, Berk, still haven't made a peace treaty with us, yes? What if she was _part_ of the treaty? We can go to Berk, say we have business regarding the making of a peace treaty, and propose at the same time! It's brilliant!"

"But dear, I have so much work to do these next few weeks…" Fergus whined. In all honesty, he simply didn't want to go, and Eleanor could clearly see it on his face. She sighed and says,

"Fine, I'll go alone. Maraud needs to fulfill his responsibility. He's a prince; he needs to know that his title makes some freedoms offered to others unavailable to him,"

Fergus stood up and started rubbing Eleanor's shoulders. She sighed and relaxed slightly.

"Now, Dear, I'm sure this Princess Hiccup will show him a thing or two, just like you did me. We can set up a boat for tomorrow, how does that sound? And I'll send a bird ahead of you so they don't accidentally attack you, either!" Fergus sounded so excited to help, but Eleanor rolled her eyes and said,

"Oh, my hero. Thank you, Dear,"

"No problem, Love. Now, come to bed, eh?"

"I have more mail to go through…" Eleanor argued lamely. Fergus shot her a look and Eleanor giggled. She couldn't believe it. There she was, an old queen with four children, looking for a bride for one of them, but the mere presence of her husband made her feel as if she were a wee lass again. She only hoped all her children find such happiness. "Oh, alright, I'm coming, I'm coming, so stop looking at me like that!"

Fergus laughed, "That's my girl!"

Yes, Fergus may be a bit… excessive at times, but Eleanor loved him just the same. She climbed into bed and fell asleep in the arms of her husband.

It took a week, but Queen Eleanor finally arrived at Berk. It was a little village. Cozy. Quaint. The people were anything but. The figures waiting for her at the dock were large, hulking ones, and Eleanor wondered if the Berkians sent the biggest members of the tribe to see her arrival. Actually, everything about the Vikings was big. The ships were massive. The houses were massive. The people were… massive. Suddenly, Eleanor had second thoughts about proposing to any of the girls from this island.

"Queen Eleanor?" The largest figure on the dock asked. His accent was just as thick as her own. The man was about as large as her own husband, if not larger. His nose was straighter, and a beard flowed down from his jaws. Following the Viking tradition, the beard, too, was almost too big to be functional. If this was the chief, what did his daughter look like?

"Aye, that's me. And you are Chief Stoic, I presume?"

"Aye. We got your message a couple of days ago. So, you come in peace, then?"

"That I do,"

Chief Stoic nodded his head. He asked if she has any luggage with her. When she replied yes, Chief Stoic turned to some of the men on his left and told them to take the luggage to the guest house. Guest… house? The Vikings had an entire house built for guests? Eleanor worked hard to conceal her shock. She must not have done a good job because the sound of small laughter was heard from the chief's right. Stoic didn't seem to notice, but Eleanor did. She turned to face the small girl- it was surely a girl who made the sound- and was surprised.

In a village of nothing but larger than life beings and buildings and beards, Eleanor did not expect to see such a dainty little girl. Her dark brown hair was in a messy braid over her shoulder, and her green eyes sparkled with humor. Her attire was… strange. She was wearing a green shirt with a dark brown skirt and light brown leggings. The skirt was made of cut up leather, stitched in a way to make them look like scales.

"Hello? Who are you?" Eleanor asked after she had gotten off of the ship. After being on the sea for so long, though, Eleanor almost toppled over. The girl reached out and re-balanced Eleanor before smiling at her. Standing next to the girl, Eleanor realized that the girl wasn't as short as she originally believed. In fact, the girl was almost as tall as she was, it was only when she stood next to the other Vikings was she short. Ignoring the queen's questions, the girl asked her own.

"First time here?" When Eleanor nodded, the girl said, "Yeah, it's a bit strange to outsiders that we Vikings have guest houses. But I've always wondered: if you don't have a guest house, then where do all the guests stay?"

"Well, we have guest rooms," Eleanor explained.

"In… a guest house?"

"No, guest rooms in our own houses,"

"You… let them sleep in the same house as you sleep in?" the girl seemed shocked, and Eleanor had absolutely no idea why.

"Of course,"

"What happens when they try to kill you?" the girl seemed genuinely curious, not at all joking. Eleanor, however, was shocked.

"When they what? I don't know about Vikings, but in Dunbrough, we usually don't kill our hosts,"

Eleanor was now truly worried. What if the Viking princess tried to kill her and her family when she was visiting? Did she truly wish to put everyone in danger simply to marry her son away to a princess? Surely there were some fine lower noble girls Eleanor and Fergus had looked over?

"You don't?" the girl sounded wistful. She looked over Eleanor's shoulders and pursed her lips. She said, "Gobber and Fargleturke are going to take care of your luggage. If you want, I could give you a tour of Berk?"

"That would be lovely, dear," the queen accepted kindly. The girl spoke in a strange fashion, and she looked different. Sadly, Eleanor knew that if one was different than everyone else, they were often discriminated. She wondered idly if this little girl was also set apart from everyone in her village. The girl started walking, and Eleanor followed, looking at the petite little thing in pity.

As it turned out, the girl did stand apart from everyone else in the village, but not because of scorn. They all loved her. Every time the queen and the girl would pass by a Viking, they would smile at her and ruffle her hair, give her a large hug, or just scream in her face. Just a simple: "Ahhh! Good Afternoon!"

Eleanor wasn't sure if there was some hidden meaning in the scream, but it seemed to please the girl. Maybe it was the Viking equivalent of telling her she looked pretty. Anyway, Eleanor didn't ask. But what Eleanor didn't ask, the girl did.

The girl turned out to be a curious little thing. She would show Eleanor the mess hall, then ask about Dunbrough's. She would show Eleanor the guest house, then ask more about Dunbrough's 'guest rooms.' She would show Eleanor the Sheppard with his sheep, then ask about what people in Dunbrough ate.

It started with simple questions, the answers to which Eleanor could answer with practiced ease:

"How does the mess hall in Dunbrough look like?"

"Dunbrough does not have a mess hall. We all eat in our own homes. In the castle, the royals and guests or family friends eat in a dining hall,"

"I'm sure you have parties sometimes, though, right?"

"Well, yes. Then, we gather everyone in the main hall. We set out our tables and take the rum out of my husband's private collection and we party all night,"

"But, if you're not having a party you eat alone?"

"No, we eat with our families,"

Then the girl would pause for a second, and spout a question which would make Eleanor think for a minute:

"Doesn't it get lonely? Not knowing your own people?"

"I suppose it does. But my family is entertainment enough,"

The girl would hum at Eleanor's response, as if being too polite to argue or disagree. And Eleanor would be horribly curious to hear the girl's real thoughts.

"That's the smithy," the girl pointed out a small, run down looking wooden structure.

"It looks very nice," Eleanor complimented while shivering. Even though Eleanor had packed her warmest traveler's dress, she was still freezing. She wondered how the girl in front of her was walking around without showing the slightest bit of discomfort. The girl grinned at the forge, and Eleanor could see a certain sparkle of fondness in her eyes.

"I've apprenticed there since I was little," then, the girl looked down at herself and smirked, "Littler," she corrected.

"You're quite good company," Eleanor decided. "I hope the princess is like you,"

A strange expression crossed the girl's face for a second before she decided to ask another question.

"Why?"

Eleanor didn't know why, but she felt as if this girl could keep a secret. Maybe it was her smile- so open and honest. Maybe it was her demeanor- so calming and intelligent. Maybe it was the look in her eyes- like they had seen the darkest things on the planet and not told a soul, and whatever new secret was told to her could easily be kept as well.

Eleanor looked both sides before asking the girl if there was somewhere private they could talk. The girl pursed her lips and nodded. She led the queen to the biggest house on the island. It sat overlooking the entire village and was decorated by many wood carvings of dragons and Berkian ancestors. There were a couple of slash marks and charred bits on the wood, and the girl adopted an amused look on her face when she saw them.

The girl led Eleanor inside. It was a cozy place. Much like the village outside, it was comfortable and homey, but everything was outrageously over sized. The massive fireplace held a massive fire, with a massive fur carpet laid out in front of it. In fact, there were weapons and furs scattered all over what Eleanor could see of the house. It was warm, and it wasn't until then that Eleanor realized just how cold it was outside.

The girl led her in front of the fire, and Eleanor started to make herself comfortable on the couch that was placed there.

"No one comes in here," the girl explained. "Except for the chief and his daughter,"

Suddenly, Eleanor wanted to get out. She didn't care that it was warm in there, or that the couch was unbelievable soft. She saw the chief, and if he got angry with her for being in his house with a strange girl, she didn't want to know what he would do to them.

"Maybe we should leave, then," Eleanor suggested. The girl shook her head and laughed as she stoked the fire. There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes that Eleanor would have paid more attention to if the girl didn't say,

"No, we're fine. But what were you saying earlier? About the chief's daughter?"

Eleanor sat up straight, a difficult task in the plush couch.

"I have a son, a son who needs to be wed soon. Unfortunately, he doesn't care much for the princesses in our area. He's made them all hate him. So, when we heard of Princess Hiccup, we realized that she was our last chance at getting Maraud married. We- my husband and I- also realized that Berk did not have any sort of peace treaty with us. We figured if we make the marriage a part of the conditions of the peace treaty, we could kill two birds with one stone,"

Eleanor expected the girl to have either lost interest, or to treat the story like a fairytale. Instead, the girl had a completely serious look on her face. She bit the side of her bottom lip and mumbled her thoughts out loud:

"So, we would take out the threat of war from both kingdoms for sure? A marriage contract. Blood. Why hadn't we thought of that, yet? And land, land wouldn't even be an issue. The territories would stay the same. The only possible problem is Dad, but…"

Eleanor stopped trying to understand the girl. She kept mumbling, but it was complete gibberish. Words stringed together which didn't make any sense at all. "Toothless flying… alone… Build the tail again… Toothless overseas? It could work… if I could only… need to waterproof the…"

Eleanor looked nervously through one of the large windows in the house. It was getting dark, and she didn't want the chief and his wife, as well as their undoubtedly massive daughter to be angry at her for trespassing. She certainly didn't want the sweet, if a wee bit odd, girl in front of her to be punished for being kind to her.

"Listen, lass, we should get out of here soon. We don't want the chief, his wife, and his daughter to come home and find us in it, now do we?" Eleanor tried to gently coax the girl into leaving the house with her, but the girl suddenly adopted a faraway, sad look in her eyes. Though she had only known the girl for a short few hours, Eleanor knew those sparkling emerald eyes were not meant to look as dull as they did in that moment.

"The chief's wife is dead," the girl said. "My mother is dead," the girl looked at Eleanor and smiled, "But if I ever got another one, I would hope she would be like you,"

Eleanor's heart warmed. For years, her son had called her a horrid beast for making him do his duties. He always back-talked and never did anything without a fight. Her girls didn't really have time to talk to her; they were always running around, playing and such. It had been such a long time since she felt love from a child in a matronly way.

Suddenly, Eleanor found herself wishing this small girl was the chief's daughter. She hoped against hope that this small, sweet girl would be the one to marry Maraud. The only hesitation she had about that situation was that the girl seemed too fragile, and her son was undoubtedly a rough one. Would he break her?

"Oh! I'm sorry, you must be tired! Here, I'll take you to the guest house. You can rest for the night, and around noon tomorrow, you, the chief, and the- princess," the girl paused a beat before saying princess. An odd grimace graced her otherwise beautiful face while she recited the word. "Can discuss this marriage proposition you've thought of," Eleanor tried to hide her nervousness at proposing her deal, but she tried her best to hide the expression. She must not have done a very good job because the girl smiled a little and reassured, "I have a feeling the chief'll agree to it. I just hope your son is ready for her. She can be… quite a handful,"

Eleanor studied the gleam in the girl's eyes, and not for the first time that day, Eleanor felt as though the girl knew something she didn't- something obvious that Eleanor should have known, but didn't. Deciding to chalk up the paranoia to being in a strange village populated with large people all on her own, Eleanor nodded graciously at the girl.

The girl stood up to lead Eleanor out, but suddenly winced and practically fell next to Eleanor. The queen started at the sudden action. While the girl wasn't the most graceful person in the world, she didn't seem to be the type to just trip over nothing.

"Are you alright dear?" Eleanor asked, concerned, at the girl's face, drawn with pain.

"Fine," the girl breathed. She reached down to her left leg and Eleanor almost jumped out of her skin. This girl's right leg was petite, like the rest of her, but it was complete, unlike the left one. Eleanor couldn't be sure if the girl was born without the leg, had to have it taken off because of a sickness, or because of some accident, but she was sure that she was concerned about the girl. Her face was suddenly pale as she tried to reach down and gingerly touch the nub of flesh.

Eleanor couldn't breath as the girl let go of the leg and tried standing again. Obviously it pained her, but the girl didn't whimper or cry out. She barely limped as she led Eleanor out of the house. The two walked in an awkward silence until the girl laughed weakly,

"Sorry about that,"

"No problem at all, dear. But, how are you feeling?"

The girl froze and Eleanor almost bumped into her. The older woman looked at the girl and tried to decipher the expression on her face, but it was gone too quickly for her to categorize.

"Just fine," the girl answered cautiously, as if Eleanor was giving her a test, and the wrong answer would cost her life. "I lost my leg a couple of months ago, and when it's cold outside, it gets sore. Unfortunately for me, Berk is almost always cold, but I've gotten used to the constant pain. So, now, when I go from the cold to somewhere warm, my leg begins to ache again. It's a vicious cycle, but I'm a Viking. I can handle it,"

It was odd. Eleanor had actually forgotten that the girl was a Viking. She seemed nothing like everyone else in her village. Eleanor just wanted to smuggle her in one of her trunks and take her home with her, like a cute wee souvenir from Berk. Sadly, she couldn't.

As the girl walked away from the guest house, Eleanor found herself wondering once again what the girl's name was. No matter how many times she asked, the girl would avoid the question. It was a fact that the queen simply had to accept: that she would never know the name of the smallest Viking to ever have lived.

Eleanor went to sleep, the last thought on her mind was a life where the beautiful girl with one leg married her unruly son, whipped him into shape, and he lived happily with her for the rest of their lives.

In the morning, Eleanor was greeted by the small green eyed girl, along with some of her friends. The two other girls with her were both blondes. One of them seemed tough, but pretty enough, with crystal blue eyes and a round face. The other was attractive in her own way. She had a long face, with brown eyes, but she seemed to make comments almost like a boy. Both were at least three inches taller than the little brunette Viking girl, and both seemed to have a protective stance around her. Friends, then.

"Good morning, Eleanor," the girl greeted.

"Hello," Eleanor smiled back.

"I hope you don't mind, I brought some of my friends with me. This is Astrid," the intense one with blue eyes, "And Ruffnut," the lass with brown eyes and strange comments about almost everything.

"No problem at all, dear,"

The three of them started walking around the town. Eleanor couldn't help but to notice that while the atmosphere of the town was like one big family, everyone seemed a little sad and lifeless, almost like everyone was missing someone. Trying to phrase it delicately, in case she struck a nerve, Eleanor implored of the little brown haired girl,

"Has someone recently left the town?"

The girl looked up, surprised, at Eleanor, as if she couldn't believe Eleanor had picked up on the signs.

"In a sense, I guess we all had to lose someone recently," the girl answered flippantly. "But they'll come back. We're just missing them right now, that's all. Thank you for noticing," the girl looked into Eleanor's eyes, and Eleanor was astounded by the amount of intense intelligence and hardship they harbored. Eleanor constantly forgot while she was around the girl, but these were Vikings. Vikings were constantly killed and lost their own on their voyages to discover new lands. Fights broke out, lives were wasted, innocence was lost. And this girl was one of those Vikings.

Once again, Eleanor found herself wondering about the Viking princess. Would she be anything like the down to earth little brunette? Or would she be like all the other princesses Maraud had pushed away?

Someone from somewhere in the village shouted something, and chaos ensued. The little girl sighed and said to the queen,

"I have to go, but Astrid and Ruff can keep you company. You can have breakfast, if you'd like. The meeting is in five hours in the mess hall, okay?"

The girl didn't wait for an answer before she turned and walked towards the shouting. Moments after her brown hair was out of sight, the yells ceased, and the two blondes Eleanor was left with exchanged glances. They looked at the queen and told her to follow them.

* * *

In the few hours Eleanor had spent with Astrid, she had learnt one thing: do not get on her bad side. There was a boy, a tall, meaty one, about the size of her Maraud, who kept bothering Astrid and Ruffnut both. Eventually Astrid grew tired of his harmless flirting, and Eleanor learned why Vikings had such haunted looks in their eyes. If that was what happened when one of them was mildly irritated, what happened when they were fully angered?

Again, the Viking princess came to mind. Eleanor shook her image of the girl out of her mind. All girls were beautiful, and Chief Stoic's daughter had to be in her own way as well. It just might be a bit more difficult to discern than in someone else's face. The little Viking girl, for instance, was breathtaking from the first time anyone looked at her. Hopefully Maraud would give the Viking princess a chance at least. The last thing Dunbrough needed was her son offending an island of Vikings.

Eleanor took a deep breath before pushing the mess hall's doors open with all her might. They were massive, made of solid wood, and entirely too heavy. Eventually, someone from the inside noticed her efforts and opened them from the inside. As it turned out, it was the little girl from the village, except she looked different.

Her brown hair twisted over her shoulder in a braid, more complicated that the one from yesterday, and there was a wreath of flowers on her head. She was in a long dress, made of animal skin and furs and tied together with strips of leather. The only thing which looked natural on her was the glint in her eyes. The one which said, _you still don't know?_ And Eleanor was sure she wasn't imagining it. Before Eleanor could ask the girl about what she knew, she was interrupted by Chief Stoic.

"Ah! Queen Eleanor. Having some trouble with the door, eh?"

Eleanor smiled uncomfortably, but Stoic simply laughed and said that most newcomers did. He led Eleanor to a big table in the middle of the deserted mess hall. To Eleanor's confusion, the small girl went and sat by him.

"Now, about that peace treaty…"

And so Eleanor and Stoic spent a good hour going over the specifics. They then had the girl write it all out and they signed at the bottom.

_Oh,_ Eleanor realized _she's here to write the contract._ Then the queen looked around the mess hall. She was struck with the urge to leave things as they were with the Vikings: a new peace treaty made with the chief, a new friend in the form of a wee delicate flower, a new-found appreciation for fur coats. But no, Eleanor was a queen, and queens had to do their duty. Eleanor cleared her throat and said,

"Before you go, Chief Stoic, a moment," the chief sat down again, a knowing look in his weary eyes. Eleanor took a moment to silently compose herself before she blurted out, "While the peace treaty was one of the major deciding factors on my journey here, Dunbrough does have another proposition for you,"

The chief aged ten years right before Eleanor as he nodded for her to continue.

"I do have a son, a strong one, who is in need of a wife. I would like to propose to your daughter, if she would consider being the bride,"

The old chief looked long at Eleanor. It took everything in the dignified queen to not squirm under his gaze.

"Any why haven't you asked any of the princesses from your area?"

Eleanor winced silently. This was a delicate matter, and needed to be presented as such.

"Well, my son, Prince Maraud, is not much of a charmer. In fact, he seems a bit brash at times, choosing to take the girls out on rides in the woods instead of going for picnics or walking through the market with them. Understandably, the princesses were offended by his acts and chose to… decline offering their hands to him," _As well as almost waging war against us on multiple occasions_ Eleanor finished mentally.

The chief raised his eyebrows and looked at the small girl next to him. She shrugged her shoulders and piped,

"Queen Eleanor's people and those around her are remarkably sheltered. The princesses study, sew, and practice their enunciation all day," the girl spoke her next words too softly for Eleanor to hear, but the chief heard, and he only fondly rolled his eyes at her. Eleanor found herself wondering why the girl was still there. Shouldn't she have left, and let the princess take her place?

"So? What are your thoughts?" Eleanor asked Stoic, hoping against hope that he would at least agree to think it over.

"I think I should let my daughter voice her thoughts first," the large man said gruffly. Eleanor sat up straighter, if possible. Her muscles tensed, but her face was a mask of calm. Not calm enough, apparently, because the girl gave her a suppressed smile of reassurance.

"Of course! Where is the lass?" Eleanor asked. Stoic looked at her, as if deciding whether she was joking or not.

"Hiccup is right here, next to me, of course," he said slowly. That was when everything clicked in Eleanor's brain. Her eyes widened as she looked at the petite girl in a new light.

Her hair swirled in complex twists around her head, framing her beautiful face almost as well as the splash of freckles on her cheeks. Her eyes were as bright as the stars, asking the queen: _do you see now?_ Of course she saw now. She would have to be daft not to.

"Y-you, dear?" Eleanor stuttered, her mouth trying to catch up to her brain.

"Yes, her. This is my daughter: Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the Third. If you have any sort of problem with that-" Stoic was starting to get angry, but calmed when Eleanor reached across the table and held the small girl's hand in her own.

"You will be so happy if you come with me. I promise, I'll show you everything I told you about and more! I could… I could be your new mother,"

Eleanor looked imploringly at the girl-Hiccup- and could practically see the determination in the way her jaw set. Hiccup looked at her father- Eleanor could hardly believe they were related, what with Hiccup looking so different than the chief- and said,

"Daddy, I think it's time I stopped being so Useless," The chief looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Now, Hiccup, there's always time to-"

"Daddy," Hiccup said gently, "If we join Dunbrough, who would attack Berk? And with my marriage ensuring peace between us, we can finally be at ease with the eastern mainland because we'll have reinforcements,"

Eleanor could see the reluctance in the chief's eyes. After an eternity, he let out a long breath and said,

"I suppose if your boy is anything like you, I'm sure my daughter'll be fine,"

_Oh, he's like me, alright,_ Eleanor thought, _Almost disturbingly so. And not in the best sense, either. _Eleanor didn't voice her thoughts. She finally got a fiancée for her son, and she wasn't about to destroy what she worked so hard to get. Besides, despite her looks, Hiccup was a strong young girl. Eleanor had witnessed her opening the thick doors all by herself with minimal struggle. If anyone could handle her son, it would be a Viking princess.

As soon as the three royals left the mess hall, they were swarmed by a crowd of people. Hiccup slipped through them fairly easily, then sped away. Eleanor couldn't keep track of her future daughter-in-law because of the trees in front of her. Well, they weren't actually trees, but 50% of the Vikings were wooden legs and arms. That, plus their size, and they were practically the forest surrounding the village.

Just as Stoic calmed everyone down, a loud screech/roar was heard. Eleanor jumped. On Dunbrough, they had the demon bear Mordue, but Eleanor had never even considered that Berk had their own monster!

To her utter confusion, instead of rushing to fight the source of the noise, the villagers around her chuckled. Stoic chose to ignore the sound altogether, and announced Hiccup's engagement. The villagers' reactions varied. Some of the older women looked at each other and said, 'Well, it's about time!' The men all went up to Stoic and patted his shoulder, telling him it wouldn't get easier. They all earned glares for their words of 'comfort.' The younger peoples, the ones around Hiccup's age, all stared wide eyed until the black haired boy who had irritated Astrid, still bandaged and bruised, cried out,

"What?!"

A long, low whine breezed over the village, as if agreeing with the boy's outburst of anguish. All around Eleanor, the villagers laughed.


	2. Sailing to Dunbrough

**Chapter 2**

Hiccup groaned as she leaned over the boat. Even before Toothless bit her foot off, Hiccup had gotten sick on boats. There was something about the smell of salt and fish in the air paired with the nothing in all directions that simply did not sit right with her.

Flying was different. Up in the air with Toothless, she was free. Down in the middle of the ocean on a boat, she was trapped. Besides that, she had a large chunk of metal strapped onto her left leg. If she went over, there was no way she could get to the surface. She would sink and be gone before anyone so much as realized that she was gone.

Hiccup had almost died once before, and it was not an experience that she wanted to relive. But, she was a Viking. Simply being a Viking was an occupational hazard. She had to get used to being in constant danger.

Hiccup walked very carefully back to the middle of the deck and sat by Toothless, who lay curled in a circle, resting against the main mast. She leaned against his ever-warm side and reflected on the past couple of days.

In the mornings, she and Toothless would fly around in the sky. She would help Toothless grab his breakfast before she indulged herself. Then, she would relax as much as she possibly could on a boat, and talk to Ruff and Astrid. She said talk, but mainly the girls all swapped complaints. Astrid hated the way Snotlout never gave up on her, but still searched for more options. Ruff hated how no boy looked at her like they looked at Astrid and Hiccup because of Tuffnut. And Hiccup, Hiccup would complain about growing pains and not having found a way to make her prosthetic more comfortable on her leg.

Then, she would get a daily pep talk from Snot and Tuff, who would basically tell her that if the prince ended up being a complete jerk, they were there for her, and would beat him up for her. Toothless would usually growl in agreement while pulling her tighter to himself.

It always made Hiccup feel special and loved when Toothless pulled her closer to him, as if she was a precious thing which needed to be protected. After nearly a lifetime of being Useless, if felt nice to have someone appreciate and care for her.

Then, usually from right after lunch straight through dinner, Fishlegs and her father would teach her about Dunbrough history and tradition and culture. "And please, Hiccup," her father would implore most nights, "don't try to be so… forward thinking. If you want to make a change, do so slowly," It was funny the first time, but after the fourth time, Hiccup realized that her daddy was serious. So she promised that she would try.

Soaking in the sun, Hiccup stretched against her best friend's back. He was scaly and warm and frightening and he would give his life to protect her. She was sure she would do the same for him. Toothless wasn't just lovable and cute- he was also her best friend. Her first friend. He was the first after her mother to really show her that she had a worth. And she loved him for showing her that.

He gave her the confidence, the strength, to go against everything Berk believed in, and he gave her the determination to show her village that what they were doing was wrong. And he was going with her to her new home.

With that in mind, she thought that she shouldn't worry so much about being on a ship, or even being on her way to meet her soon to be husband. She wass surrounded by her family, and she knew that Toothless would be there for her to lean on. Forever and always.


	3. Meeting the Prince

**Chapter 3**

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.

Hiccup was right to worry. She was right to be freaked out. What was she THINKING? Agreeing to a marriage without even meeting the guy?

In the hazy distance, Hiccup could just barely make out the green strip which promised a view of Dunbrough. Ever since Astrid announced the discovery, Hiccup could not stop pacing. Toothless following as much as he could, but eventually he got dizzy. He ended up laying down with his paws over his head, whining.

Hiccup crouched next to him, looking at his mighty body curled in a tight ball because of her worrying. She smiled suddenly and whispered in his ear,

"Hey, sweetie, how about a quick flight?" That got his attention. In less than a second, he was on all fours, wings out and at the ready. Hiccup pulled her hair into a quick bun and called out, "Daddy! I'm going on a quick flight, okay?"

To her surprise, Stoic ran over to her, waving his arms, telling her to stay on the boat.

"Dad?" she asked, surprised.

"Hiccup, you can't just fly over to Dunbrough on a dragon! People will panic! There will be mayhem! Of all the reckless-!"

"Dad!" Hiccup said, using her 'no nonsense' tone. "We killed the Red Death. There's nothing to fear anymore. Why would they panic?"

Her father looked at her for a second before sighing.

"I didn't want to tell you," he admitted, "But I suppose you ought to know now. Not everyone in the world had our problems, Hiccup,"

"Well, I guess," Hiccup said slowly, "Not everyone had a nest to deal with. That's why we took it out for them,"

Stoic shook his head and said,

"No, Hiccup. There are certain places where dragons… don't exist. They're about as real to the people of Dunbrough as a yeti is to us,"

"A what?"

"Exactly,"

It took Hiccup a second to process the information. No dragons? No fires, no fear, no flying? No Toothless?

Hiccup shook the thought out of her mind before saying,

"So, no radically changing their opinion of the world? No showing them Toothless?"

"Not until the time is right," her father nodded, "And not a word at all about the dragons back on the island. But back to the main point- I don't want you flying. At all. They might see you, and then they'll shoot you down. I just don't want to see you get hurt,"

"Alright. But think about this, Dad. If it's stealth flying we're talking about, there is no one better than Toothless," Her scaly best friend smiled toothlessly at her compliment. Hiccup smiled right back as she patted his side. "And if it's really worrying you, we'll be back before you guys land. Promise!"

Before her father had a chance to argue some more with her, Hiccup hopped onto Toothless's back and they dove down into the water. Hiccup held her breath until her lungs felt like screaming. She didn't bother buckling herself in, and just as she was about to pass out, Toothless cleared out of the water. Hiccup gulped in a couple of mouthfuls of air. She reminded Toothless to stay close to the ground so they wouldn't be spotted, but other than that, they moved in perfect harmony. Well, in perfect harmony until Hiccup didn't notice the thick tree branch in front of her.

Maraud stood proud and tall side by side with his father. He was nowhere near as tall as him. Yet. He would be his father one day, but not anytime soon. There were three things stopping Maraud from being his father at the moment.

1\. His height. While this was true, Maraud was sure he would have a growth spurt sometime in the near future, and when it happened, the princes in the nearby kingdoms better watch out.

2\. His relationship status. Simply put, Fergus- Maraud's father- was married. Maraud wasn't. That's all there was to it.

3\. His attitude. This one was… complicated, sort of.

Fergus was standing next to his beautiful wife, his grown son, and his three playful daughters. He was content, and the curve of his lips was proof of that. In stark contrast to his father, Maraud stood, arms crossed over his chest. His brow was set, and a scowl on his face.

He could see the Viking ship. Without so much as asking him, his mother had arranged a marriage for him with some strange Scandinavian Viking princess. Maraud growled in frustration. He didn't want to get married! What was so difficult to understand about that? He didn't want to be tied down to a woman while the world was out there, ready for the exploring. Maraud ground his teeth to keep himself from snapping and screaming at his mother, his father, or the Viking ship.

Maraud could practically see the girl he was to wed, now. From what his mother had described, Vikings and all they made and used where massive and largely over-decorated.

Maraud tried not to sneer as he imagined a girl the size of his father stomping down the gangplank, practically killing him as she ran up to him and swallowed him in a hug, blonde hair done in two neat braids, clothes embroidered with flowers and trees and whatever else Vikings decorated their clothes with. As soon as she would be done harassing Maraud, she would turn to any of her plethora of servants and order him to carry her to the castle, and have a meal and warm bath prepared for her. But, she was still a Viking, no? Wouldn't that make her a dangerous savage?

In a moment of weakness, Maraud remembered what his mother said of Vikings having guest _houses_ to ensure the guests don't go around killing the hosts. Maraud swallowed as he thought of a large girl with two blonde braids holding a knife above his chest as he slept.

Then, the moment was gone and Maraud's anger was back. He was a human, wasn't he? Didn't he have rights? Wasn't one of them to wait until he was ready to get married? He could not believe this.

Still, standing there seething would not solve anything. Nothing would, really. The ship was only getting closer. But, he could escape for a minute. Actually, from the look of how far away the boat was, he had roughly an hour.

He tapped the sister closest to him, Hilary, on the shoulder, and shot her 'the look.'

Long ago the siblings had decided that sometimes Maraud blew up, and that was never good for anyone. So, whenever he felt all his anger and frustration boiling inside of him, he would turn to his sisters and give them 'the look' and they would give enough distraction for him to slip away.

Hilary caught sight of the look and passed on the message to her fellow triplets, and they went to work right away. Hilda snuck away while Helen started fussing around their mother's skirt. Then Hilary pushed her over, and started laughing as Helen pretended to cry. At least, Maraud hoped she was faking mum and da started taking care of Helen, soothing her, while simultaneously scolding Hilary.

Hilda, in the meanwhile, had been very busy indeed. All of a sudden, one of the maids ran towards the king and queen, screaming. His parents and Maraud turned around and looked in shock at the chaos in town. There were chickens on roofs, and cows in shops. Some people were beating others back with pitch forks and eggs. Maraud had never been more proud of his sisters. He never knew quite how they knew how to do what they did. He never bothered asking. That was their thing. His thing was riding through the woods with his arrows.

While his parents were distracted, Maraud slipped away, but not before he ruffled Hilary's curly red hair. Then, he ran. He skidded to a stop at Angus's stall, but barely paused as he scooped up his bow and arrows. He had his saddle and bridle ready, and after years of practice, getting them onto Angus was a piece of cake. He pulled himself up and then, they were riding.

Maraud loved how Angus always knew how he was feeling. And right then, Maraud was angry. So, Angus's gait was long and jerky. It was a challenge for Maraud to steady his bow and hit the bull's-eye. The attention needed to complete his task almost caused him to run over the strange girl, and that would have been bad.

It was the girl's high pitched scream which tipped him off that something was happening that he hadn't noticed. She was pretty, beautiful almost. But he couldn't focus on that. She literally appeared out of nowhere. She was rubbing her head, and looking the trees where the branches were swaying and leaves were dropping. The girl turned a little and noticed him, finally. Her eyes widened and she started yelling at the tree.

Maraud finally snapped into action just as a particularly fast cloud passed overhead, darkening the sky for a second. He moved Angus right in front of her, and he noticed a few things right off the bat.

First of all, she was definitely beautiful. Gorgeous. She seemed petite, but not short by any means, almost as tall as his mother, but she couldn't have been older than himself. Her eyes certainly caught his attention- they sparkled with mirth, but there was an underlying darkness, speaking of the hardships she had seen. But he couldn't focus on her looks. All he needed to know was that he had never seen her before. And yet she was in his woods.

In a second, Maraud had an arrow notched on his bow and aimed at the girl's head.

"Who might you be?"

"Uhh?" the girl had to have been a spy. The last stranger Maraud had encountered had been much like the girl before him now. She, too, had been beautiful, but had been a bit more eloquent with her speech. But, as soon as Maraud had brought her back to his home to rest for the night, she whipped out a knife and demanded a ransom or his head would no longer be connected with his body.

Thanks to his young sisters and some of the guards, Maraud had gotten out of the situation unharmed, but he had grown from the experience. No longer would he naively trust any random stranger in the woods.

Maraud pulled the string back and urged Angus closer to the girl before asking with more force,

"Who are you? And who sent ye?"

Before the girl can make a single sound, a low growling filled the air. Maraud's eyes widened and without thinking for a single second pulled the girl up on Angus's saddle in front of him. The girl squeaked and struggled to get down, but Maraud's hold was firm. He might not trust her one bit, but he sure as heck wouldn't let her get mauled to death. Maraud tried to get Angus to move back home, but the girl's kicking and protests were extremely distracting. After a particularly hard kick to his leg, he grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her to him, telling her roughly,

"Quit your moving about, don't you know there are bears out here?"

The girl stopped moving at all and Maraud thought her got her to see sense before she asked,

"What's a bear?"

Maraud's arms loosened around her as he stared at her incredulously. The girl quickly jumped down from the horse. Almost out of habit it seemed, she gently pet Angus on the shoulder before she ran straight back into the woods.

Maraud stood there with Angus for a long moment. He tried to wrap his mind around it. Someone who didn't know what a bear was. What would it be like to live in a world without the fear of bears? Not knowing about their sharp teeth, their jagged claws, their raw power? Maraud just shook his head and was about to spur Angus on, but he happened to look up. He bit down a curse and turned Angus around. That had been his last hour as a free and single man, and that stupid girl took up most of his time.


	4. Official Arrival

**Chapter 4**

Hiccup's lungs were burning by the time Toothless splashed up from the waves and onto the ship. The look on her dad's face was explanation enough- she cut it close. Too close. Hiccup barely had time to tell Toothless to go back to the forest before they landed at Dunbrough's port. Hiccup stood next to Astrid as she looked for her future mother. There she was.

Instead of a brown traveler's dress, the queen donned a beautiful green garment with darker green embroidery. Next to the queen was a man, almost as tall as her own father, and almost as wide. That was certainly surprising. Hiccup's father and her village were all huge, but that was to be expected; they were Vikings. Body fat was needed to keep from freezing to death. The man next to the queen, probably her husband, Fergus, was large by luck, it seemed. No one else seemed to even grow close to his size.

He was fairly like her father in size, but the rest of him was completely different. His nose was more angled, while her father's was straight. His hair was frizzier and his beard nonexistent, while Hiccup had witnessed her father taking good care to keep his hair and beard tangle-free and well managed. The most striking thing about the Scottish king, though, was his leg. He only had one, just like Hiccup, except he was missing his right leg. All the same, Hiccup thought that maybe one day when they were ready, they could swap limb stories.

The next things Hiccup noticed were the three little girls by the king and queen's feet. They all looked the same. They had unruly copper curls and clear blue eyes. The amount of spirit and mischievousness in them sent tingles down Hiccup's spine. Something about them seemed uncomfortably familiar. Hiccup thought for a second, and shivered when she came to the conclusion- they looked exactly like Ruff and Tuff when they were little kids.

Hiccup was sure that her fiancée was next to the girls, but was too nervous to even look at him. Without Toothless there next to her, it was as if all her courage had seeped out of her system and drained into the wood of the ship.

Instead of staring awkwardly at the floorboards of the ships, Hiccup turned to Astrid and asked,

"How is he?"

Astrid chose not to answer, only looking in the general direction of her fiancée. Deciding that that was a good sign, Hiccup gathered up her nerve and raised her gaze to the prince of Dunbrough. Who she saw almost gave her a heart attack.

It was the man from the woods! His wild hair was still tamed into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing the same black shirt with plaid sash and kilt. He was even wearing the same frown on his face.

Astrid looked at her, studying her face. Hiccup tried for a carefree smile, but that was probably what sealed the deal for Astrid. Astrid grabbed Hiccup by the wrist and herded Ruff with them. Then she dragged both of the girls with her below deck.

"Alright, Hiccup," Astrid said, determined to get answers, "What's up?"

Hiccup looked at Ruff and Astrid and gave up on trying to get out of the situation with a clever response like 'nothing.'

"That guy, the prince,"

"Oh, yeah, he's smoking!" Ruff nodded her approval. "I approve,"

"Yeah, there's a small problem," Hiccup confessed. "I met him in the woods,"

"What!" Astrid cried. Hiccup held up her hands, palms facing Astrid, a signature Berkian way of saying 'calm down.'

"Let me explain," And Hiccup did. The only response she got was a laughing Ruffnut.

"What's a bear? It couldn't possibly be more hardcore or awesome than a full-grown, fire-breathing dragon, with teeth the size of three full grown Viking men, and a body bigger than a mountain, can it?"

Astrid and Hiccup watched as Ruff stomped around below deck. Something clicked in Hiccup's mind in a second, and she laughed. Ruff was trying to make Hiccup feel better. For that, she was eternally grateful. This type of thing wasn't the way Ruff chose to make jokes, and it was nice that she had someone who would try something new to make her feel good about herself.

After stalling another fifteen minutes, and handing Snot, Fish, Stoic, and any of the Dunbrough deckhands any supplies they could, the three girls had to leave, and Hiccup had to face her fiancée.

Hiccup climbed out from below deck and climbed down from the ship. She saw Queen Eleanor lean up to her son's ear and point her out through the crowd. He looked towards where the queen pointed, and even from about ten feet away Hiccup could see his clear blue eyes as they widened. She couldn't hear what he said, but she kept slowly walking towards the two of them. When she was within five feet she realized that he wasn't saying anything, just sputtering. When she was an arm's length away, his brain unscrambled and he pointed at her and said with surprise,

"You!"

All she could do at her father's fierce look was smile sheepishly.


	5. Prank

**Chapter 5**

Everyone sat silently at the long table in the castle's mess hall, or, as they liked to call it, their dining room. No one really spoke to each other. After Maraud had pointed at Hiccup in the docks, and after his mother had given him a sound scolding, Fergus had led everyone to the castle and then seated them down.

All the Vikings took example from the three little girls and picked politely at their haggis. Maraud didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at Hiccup. It was starting to make her uncomfortable, and she could tell that Snotlout was about to snap and rush at the prince. Fortunately for her, Fergus leaned over to Maraud and whispered something into his ear. His face turned about as red as his hair and Maraud refused to meet her gaze for the rest of the meal.

Hiccup looked at Astrid and sighed softly as her eyes drooped. _I'm tired. _Astrid shook her head slightly and dipped her head towards the queen, masking the action as she started to smooth an invisible hair down. _Doesn't matter, they're entertaining us, so we've got to stay._

Hiccup looked around the table quickly. Ruff and Tuff were staring at the triplets, and Hiccup had a sense of dread bury itself into her stomach. She had seen that look in their eyes before. They were planning something. But what? Hiccup decided to focus on her father instead of worrying about the twins. She already knew that Snot had recruited Fish to be his temporary replacement for Tuff, and that they were both glaring at Maraud. Her father, however, was oblivious to all of this. He was staring at King Fergus. They might have been having a sort of conversation, like she and Astrid had been having, or they could have both simply been staring at each other, some stupid form of male dominance or something. Whatever they were doing, Eleanor put an end to it.

Eleanor cleared her throat and everyone turned their gazes towards her. Hiccup found herself envious of Eleanor's calm sense of authority. She herself was just a small girl, a pipsqueak, a hiccup. No one would listen to her unless Toothless was there with her. But, maybe things would be different in Dunbrough. Maybe one day she could rule, and be as confident as Queen Eleanor. After all, she was about as tall as the queen was, and she still had a couple of years to hope for a growth spurt. It was an odd thought, but in Dunbrough, Hiccup might actually be taller than average. Hiccup smirked at the thought.

Eleanor told everyone where their rooms were- Astrid and Ruff were rooming together, as were Fish and Tuff, and Snot and Chief Stoic. Hiccup, though, was all on her own, and Hiccup found herself feeling thankful. She loved her friends and family, undoubtedly, but she also valued her alone time.

Soon after Eleanor finished her directions to their rooms, all the Vikings stood up and left to wander around until they came across their room. Hiccup and Astrid went together, though they were soon pulled aside by Ruff and Tuff. Hiccup was not surprised in the least.

"What do you guys want?" Astrid demanded at the same time Hiccup complained,

"I'm too tired, guys,"

Astrid looked at Hiccup, a frown on her face,

"You know what they want?"

"Well, I'm guessing that they want to do a prank, right?"

The twins looked at each other. Then at Hiccup. Then back at each other.

"How did you know?"

Hiccup sighed and said,

"I just… do. I know you guys, and I'm pretty sure I'm a bit too tired,"

"But, Hiccup!" Ruff pleaded. Hiccup concentrated on not looking in Ruff's surprisingly cheerful and open eyes. Looking at Ruffnut while she was begging was like looking at a child when they were giving you a hug and saying please; it was impossible to say no. Hiccup tried as hard as she could to look away, but she didn't try hard enough, it seemed, because she ended up peeking. At Ruffnut's impossibly hopeful look, Hiccup groaned and said,

"Agh! Fine, but let's keep this one quick, huh?"

So, the four of them snuck through the castle. The twins told Hiccup the basic idea of what they wanted to do, and Hiccup had to admit it was a funny idea. So, Hiccup quickly ironed out the plan and came up with a simple machine to make for it. As the friends were running through the castle, Astrid huffed,

"How do you even know this is going to work and won't be taken as a declaration of war? It's not like they're married _yet_ ya know,"

"Ah, come on, Astrid," Tuffnut said, "Lighten up,"

"Yeah. Besides, who would even guess it was us?" Ruffnut added.

"Umm…" Hiccup had to stop herself from listing an impossible number of names.

"Ok, listen," Tuffnut said, "Those adorable little triplets seem to do this a lot,"

"If we don't act like we know anything," Ruffnut continued for her brother, "They'll get blamed. And honestly, with faces like those, who would even stay mad at them?"

"The plan's fool-proof!" Tuffnut cheered.

Astrid reached up and hefted the last bit of rope that they needed onto her shoulders.

"Alright, alright," she grumbled. "You guys are geniuses who thought of everything, now let's get going,"

"Wait," Ruffnut whispered as Tuffnut held Astrid back. The four of them pressed themselves into a small crack just as a guard walked by. Hiccup and Astrid looked at the twins. Looks like their experience in pranking came in handy sometimes, after all.

"Ok, time to go," Tuffnut sounded the all clear. And they went to work, first visiting the resident king's room, then going to Stoic's guest… room. Just to make sure it wasn't taken as a declaration of war or anything dramatic like that.

Hiccup woke up to the first rays of sunlight streaming into her room. She felt, rather than heard, the steady breathing next to her, but knew instantly that it wasn't Toothless. Toothless's breath was deeper, and he was warmer, and he usually had her cocooned in his wings at this point. Plus, there was only one of him, and three of the strange breaths. Hiccup forced herself to completely open her eyes and turn to face her bed intruders.

As it turned out, they were Maraud's three adorable little sisters. The movement of Hiccup turning to face them must have woken them up, because they were starting to yawn and open their eyes as well. One of them said groggily,

"We know what you did,"

The other was a little more awake and smiled,

"It's genius!

The third simply tucked back into the warmth of the bed and fell back asleep, snoring slightly. Hiccup smiled slightly at all three of them. Hiccup started sitting up, and turned her head to look out the window. It wasn't even dawn yet, but there were a few stray strands of sunlight peeking out from the horizon. Hiccup pursed her lips.

She wanted to go see Toothless, but the prank…

Making up her mind, Hiccup told herself that she would simply have to hear about it later, even though she would've killed to see King Fergus and her father hanging upside down in their doorways, covered in honey and chicken feathers, and a sign on them saying, 'Bow to me, Mother cluckers!" Still, Hiccup wanted to see Toothless more, and now that she thought about it, both King Fergus and her father wore skirts- kilts her father called them. Never mind about the prank, now. Leave it to Hiccup to think of the one majorproblem no one had thought about the day _after _they set up the prank.

She got out of the warmth of her bed and stretched her back before readjusting the prosthetic on her leg. She would need an upgrade soon, and she only hoped that Dunbrough had a smithy for her to work in.

Hiccup turned around and tucked the three little girls into the bed before going to get ready.

As she went down the hall, pulling her hair up into a quick bun, she ran into the queen.

It seemed that Hiccup was up so early that even Queen Eleanor wasn't prepared for the day. Her dark blue gown was haphazardly thrown on, and her hair was a mess. The queen's eyes drooped from exhaustion, and she looked like she was about to fall asleep on her feet.

"Oh, sorry, My Queen," Hiccup apologized, steadying Eleanor after bumping into her.

"No, it's-" Eleanor yawned, "It's quite alright, dear. But where are you going at such an ungodly hour?"

_Oh, just to see my unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, _Hiccup thought humorously. But aloud, Hiccup answered, "Just going to take a walk through the woods for a bit. I'll be fine. I'll try to be back before breakfast, alright?"

Before Hiccup knew what she was doing, she kissed the queen on the cheek and left.

Eleanor touched her cheek absentmindedly as Hiccup's footsteps started fading away. She hadn't had a child kiss her on the cheek in years. Eleanor was so heart-warmed by the act that she completely missed what Hiccup had said. That she was going in the woods. Alone. And she didn't have a single weapon on her.

**So, it might seem a little slow for a while now, romance-wise, but I think that's the best way for this pairing to get together. Hiccup was kind of alone for most of her life, and has just started to accept her own family, and Maraud's not even looking for love. I want them to kind of have their feelings creep up on them, and to have some other stuff going on as they're falling in love, because I like this pairing, but there's only so many stories of it out there, and they're all sort of the same... I just want my story to be different, and have quality to the writing and plot. Thanks to those of you who left reviews, and followed, and favorited, yall's are awesome, and it made me feel really good, so thx! :)**


	6. The Forest

**Chapter 6**

It didn't take too long for Hiccup to find the forest. All she had to do was follow a surprisingly well-worn trail, which led her straight there. She hesitated for a moment at at the border of the woods. Queen Eleanor, and even her grouchy son, had seemed worried about those bears. Still, she wondered what they were. Maybe they were friendly? But, even if they weren't, there was no real reason to fear. She had Toothless with her, and no matter what, they protected each other.

Well, Toothless wasn't _with her_ with her. He was in the forest. The only way to find him was to explore it. Hiccup grinned as she entered the forest's green embrace. She breathed in the cool air and sighed in content. It had been far too long since she had been in a forest.

Hiccup started hiking through the dense brush. Berk had woods, but they were nothing like this. Back at Berk, Hiccup had known every fallen log, every pond, every dip and bend in the terrain. She had known what to avoid, where to go, and how to get there. The trees were spread far apart, thanks to the dragon raids continually burning the trees down.

Dunbrough, without a doubt, had a much different forest. The trees were close, and covered in moss. Instead of hills upon hills of dirt, Dunbrough had many slabs of stone thrown into the terrain. Hiccup had to be careful she didn't slip, or fall. For all its merits, her prosthetic had very little grip or traction, so she had to be especially careful when walking on ice or stone.

Hiccup kept walking through the forest. It took a little bit of effort to walk through the woods, since they were new to her and all. The darkness around her didn't really help her keep her bearings.

Before she knew it, she was lost. She didn't even know where Toothless was, so she was completely on her own.

"Just like the good old days, huh?" she mumbled sarcastically to herself, remembering the days before the Red Death, before the Nightmare in the kill ring, before Toothless.

Hiccup kept walking. She noticed that there seemed to be a select few trees with dozens of arrows stuck in them. There were a couple of man-made targets, and a path worn into the ground just under them. Hiccup followed it.

There really was no way she could know where Toothless was, so Hiccup tried to think like him. He would be near water, and a bit farther inland. Maybe he found a clearing, or some higher ground? Hiccup started searching for her buddy with renewed energy.

It didn't take nearly as long as she thought it would have. She took a turn somewhere, and it suddenly seemed as if something was pulling her, compelling her legs to take her right, then straight, over a fallen log, and then back to the left.

It was quite hard for her, especially since she had to go over quite a lot of rock. Her legs were aching by the time she decided to take a quick rest. She planted her hands on her knees and panted, wondering where in the world Toothless could be. She straightened, and the sight in front of her made her gasp in awe at it's beauty.

Hiccup was at the edge of a clearing. The grass was a vivid green, and was like a breath of fresh air for her eyes after the darkness of the thick woods. In the middle of the clearing was an almost perfect circle of rocks. A couple of the stones had cracks in them, and they all looked weathered and mossy. Not only did it look serene and untouched, the place felt… powerful. But that wasn't what Hiccup focused on.

Peeking at her from behind one of the rocks was her best friend. Hiccup smiled as she ran to meet Toothless.

"Hey, sweetie!" she cooed. "Ready to fly?"

**Short, I know, but the next chapter should be longer. More stuff starts to actually happen in like, two or three chapters. Hang in there! Thanks for favoriting and reviewing, it's really awesome to read all of those. If you have any thoughts about my story, please share! I'd love to read them. :) **


	7. Mother Cluckers and Lessons

**Chapter 7**

Maraud sat at the table, watching the Vikings as they made their way to the table. They certainly were odd.

All of the girls wore skirts, but not long ones like his mother and every other girl he had ever seen. They were short ones, which barely skimmed their knees. He could easily see the shapes of their legs in the tight pants they wore under the skirts.

They all had some sort of weapon on them. The shorter blonde girl had a big axe on her back. The taller blonde had a short sword strapped to her waist. The boys each had at least two daggers on them, and a broadsword hanging proudly by them. Chief Stoic had an impressive axe on his waist as well, its size perfectly suited for the chief.

It wasn't just their looks, it was the way they carried themselves. They all had proud, straight backs, and they walked with purpose and had power behind each of their movements. They were what Maraud wanted to be. They were free to be who and what they wanted to be. There was no one telling them to wake up earlier, to speak clearer, to have better table manners.

One of the Viking boys- the skinny blonde one- sat down at the table. A mace Maraud hadn't even noticed the boy carry clanked on the table next to him. Maraud looked over just in time to see his mother wince, and he grinned wickedly.

"Good mornin' King. Mornin' Queen," Chief Stoic greeted stiffly. All of the Vikings stifled their laughs with coughs.

"Good morning, Chief," Fergus mumbled.

Maraud tried his hardest to suppress his smile. It seemed that the rulers were still a little embarrassed from that morning. Maraud wasn't really too sure what happened, but he remembered hearing yells from both the men. Thinking that they were under attack, Maraud had grabbed his sword and booked it to his father's room, only to laugh uncontrollably while leaning on his sword for support at the sight in front of him.

His father had been strung up, dangling feet first in the doorway to his room. His entire body was covered with some sort of sticky substance. According to his father, it wasn't honey. How he had known? King Fergus hadn't wanted to talk about it. Dumped all over the king were hundreds of feathers, and a sign hung over his chin, saying, 'Bow to me, Mother cluckers!'

It was a real mystery who had done it, because Maraud could tell his sisters hadn't done it. They weren't as knowledgeable about the contraptions used to make the whole fiasco possible. Besides, they would tell Maraud if they were behind it.

"Good morning, Chief Stoic," Maraud mumbled after a look from his mother.

"Hmm…" the chief rumbled. As he stroked his beard, the large Viking surveyed the room. Maraud wondered if the chief even heard him. "Where's Hiccup?" he asked suddenly. There was a silence. Maraud looked around the room. He hadn't even noticed that Hiccup was missing.

Quite suddenly, Maraud's mum collapsed into the chair closest to her. His da was immediately next to her, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"What is it, Dear? What's wrong?"

"She's in the woods!" Maraud's mum cried. "All alone! She woke up so early that I was still half asleep when we bumped into each other; it didn't even occur to me what she was doing, where she was going! I'm so, so sorry Chief Stoic. We'll find her, don't you worry. And my son will be out there with all the soldiers,"

For the first time in what seemed like his life, Maraud didn't object to his mother making a decision for him. He had seen the girl, the princess. She was a Viking. She had the proud back, and the strange apparel. She hadn't had any weapons on her, and Maraud doubt she could have. Sure, she was tall. Maraud's mother was tall, and Hiccup was just a hair shorter than her.

But, height didn't equal muscle. The girl's arms were thin. Her legs were thin. Her entire body was thing and petite. All in all, she didn't look like she could win in a fight with a cat. What would happen if a bear got to her? Or worse- Mordue? There had been reported sightings in the forest for the past month, and even though he didn't know her, Maraud was worried for the Viking princess.

"What's the big deal?" the tall blonde girl asked, slouching next to her brother.

"Yeah, Hiccup's used to the woods," her brother added. All the Vikings around the table had varying degrees of shame and affection on their faces.

"She'll be fine," the girl finished, punching her brother in the face. Maraud stared. Why had she punched him? He turned to Chief Stoic, expecting a larger, male version of his mother. Instead, he was faced with the mountain of a man grumbling under his breath,

"Should've made it to breakfast,"

Maraud kept looking at the chief. He mumbled something about stupid useless reptiles. Maraud thought that he wouldn't mind having the chief as a father-in-law. Then, he immediately grew furious with himself. Since when did he just accept his fate being handed to him while sitting down? There had to be some way to change his arrangement with the Viking princess. But first, he had to make sure that she lived long enough for him to break his engagement with her.

"Don't you realize how much danger she's in?" Maraud cried. "There are bears out there!"

Everyone was silent for a beat and stared at Maraud.

"What are bears?" all the Vikings asked, almost simultaneously. The Dunbrough family froze and stared at them.

In the air, Hiccup let her hair free, not caring about how it would look when she was on the ground, or that it was whipping all over her face. He focused on the feeling of the wind flowing through each individual strand. It was like the sky was giving her a shower, and Hiccup wanted at least five more minutes.

She threw her arms above her head and let out a whoop of joy. Up in the sky, flying with Toothless, Hiccup felt freer than she had in what seemed like weeks. She felt lighter than when she woke up that morning, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Toothless was flying upside down. She had poured her heart out to Toothless, and he had known exactly what to do to make her feel better. The higher altitudes of the sky were usually freezing, but the feeling of love Toothless gave her warmed Hiccup from the inside out.

Hiccup opened her eyes and leaned forward, rubbing Toothless on the side of the neck, just where he liked it. She was about to tell him that they should try to dive again. They almost had it, they just needed to practice a little more. But then, Hiccup looked up. The sun was out. Not just out, but _up_. Hiccup was late for breakfast!

"Sweetie, I'm late for breakfast! We've got to get down now," Toothless crooned sadly, and Hiccup's heart broke a little. "I promise, as soon as I butter them up, I'll get you inside. I don't like you sleeping out here alone as much as you don't. Plus, the nights get cold and lonely without you there,"

Toothless looked back at Hiccup, giving her a gummy smile. Hiccup laughed as they slowly glided down to the circle of rocks. As much as Hiccup wanted to stay with Toothless, she knew she had to go. What if Queen Eleanor sent a search party for her? What if they found Toothless? Hiccup couldn't let that happen. She gave her best friend a hug and turned to leave the forest.

It didn't take long to find the trail again. After that, it was just a matter of how fast she walked. Even in Berk, Hiccup didn't run much anymore since the amputation. In a strange Dunbrough forest? The best hiccup could hope for was a slightly fast-paced walk. Faster than she would have thought, she made it to the edge of the woods. The trees were starting to thin. Hiccup smiled as she pushed aside the last branch concealing her from Dunbrough society.

To her not-so-surprised surprise, Hiccup came face to face with Maraud. She groaned a little before spotting her unofficial brothers looking at Maraud smugly. Hiccup hoped that the boys knew how confused she was, and that they would explain before she had to ask.

"He said you'd get eaten by a bear," Tuff snickered. Maraud glared at him and pushed him to the ground. Before Tuff could get up to challenge the prince, Snotlout scratched his head and said,

"Yeah, still don't know what that is,"

Maraud sighed, but said irritably,

"I'll tell you when we get everyone together back at the castle. 'M not repeating myself."

Back in the castle, Hiccup and her family were gathered by Maraud to explain exactly what bears were, and why they were so dangerous. Hiccup looked in amusement as Ruff, Tuff, and Snot sat cross-legged on the ground, almost directly in front of the king and prince. Herself and her father, as well as Astrid and Fishlegs, had decided to sit on the couch the Dunbroughs had provided. They started the tale, and Hiccup's gaze was drawn to Fergus's missing leg.

"And Mordue's still out there, somewhere in the forest, just waiting for him next victim," Fergus's son finished the tale ominously, with a sense of drama that he must've gotten from his mother.

Instead of focusing on his son, who he had seen and been around for the past eighteen years, Fergus turned to his Viking guests, expecting them to be scared witless. Instead, he was faced with a couple of politely listening Vikings, namely the chief of Berk and Princess Hiccup. The rest of them all looked extraordinarily unimpressed and took turns casting fleeting glances at Fergus's future daughter-in-law's leg. His future daughter-in-law's missing leg.

The teen's actions didn't do unnoticed by the Scottish king. He wondered what story the girl's missing limb had. He wondered if maybe he could bond with the princess over the shared experience. No one in Dunbrough ever lost a limb. He was the only one. Maybe they could compare complaints about the pain? Ways to make the inconvenience easier? Talk about how everyone treats them like they're glass because of the impairment?

Fergus suddenly found himself a whole lot more excited to have Princess Hiccup join the family.

**So, I'm not sure if any of the rest of the chapters are going to be funny. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that the first couple were. I just… wrote. Anyway, if it's not as funny, I'm sorry. But, to write funny, you have to be funny... I'm not funny. Sorry, but I'll do my best! Thanks for reviewing and following and blah blah blah. :)**


	8. Bear?

**Chapter 8**

They had already been on Dunbrough for a week. Since the morning she woke with the triplets in the same bed as her, Hiccup had sneaked out to the woods every night, and she and Toothless would simply flown in the dark sky. There was no way she could survive staying inside all day every day. Hiccup wondered idly how Maraud managed it. Of the seven days she had been in the castle, Hiccup had seen Maraud being pulled around by his mother for seven of them.

Hiccup couldn't even imagine having to spend her days trailing her father around. If she had, she wouldn't ever have been able to meet Toothless, and then what would have happened? No peace, no happiness, no future mother-in-law. Whenever Hiccup thought of Maraud being herded around like a sheep, she felt sorry for him. But, at the moment, she felt sorrier for herself.

"Don't worry, Hiccup," her father said, pulling her into his arms. Hiccup relaxed against his broadd chest. His hug was a reminder of Berk: it held her up, but made her promise to stand on her own. It was soft, and reminded her of her childhood, yet stern, and told of her responsibility now that she was a grown young woman. It was comforting, but made her heart ache with sadness. "You'll be in good hands here. You're getting a whole new family, with a whole new mother. You of all people should be excited! You're finally going on an adventure!"

Hiccup nodded, her bottom lip trembling. She never thought that it would be so hard to say goodbye, especially since she had basically been an embarrassment to him since she was eight.

Hiccup dried her tears before pulling away from her father, immediately missing his scent and warmth. She looked straight behind him, watching with a strained smiled as all of her friends carried their supplies back to the ship. It was official. She and Maraud would be married.

Hiccup looked up at the stone ceilings, then down the stone walls to the stone floors. She had felt tiny her entire life, being a petite Viking. But never in her life had she ever felt so small. There seemed to be miles of isolation between her and everyone else, and all the empty space in the cold castle paralyzed her.

She tried taking a deep breath, avoiding her father's concerned gaze. She wondered what life would be like, without anyone she knew by her side. Hiccup knew she couldn't just back out of the marriage, she was the chief's daughter. She had a duty to all of her Berkians. The responsibility, though, was suffocating.

"Uh, um," Hiccup stuttered, trying to breath. "I-I'll be, uh," she couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out. She couldn't be like Maraud. It wasn't in Hiccup to be a perfect, duty-oriented royal. She was a Viking, for all senses of the word. She was proud, and stubborn, and most importantly of all, she was free. Free to get out of the castle, at least.

Dunbrough's castle was a strange one. There was a main stone building, which the royal family and Hiccup slept in. Directly outside, there was a large plaza, which held all the people living there and their collection of shops. Then, there was a wall.

It was a tall wall, made of a mixture of stone and iron. There was one gate, but there was a guard constantly on watch there. The forest was in the complete opposite direction of the wall. It was so thick and dense, that the wall didn't even bother to go in front of it. Three fourths of the Dunbrough castle was protected by a massive wall, and the other quarter was guarded by a forest anyone would have to be crazy to go into of their own free will.

At first, Hiccup didn't really know what the wall was for. Did Dunbrough frequent invaders or attacks? But, none of the buildings were scorched, and the wall was in tip-top shape, not even an inch of the material was chipped. She ventured a little outside of the wall when the guard was looking the other way. She rolled her eyes at him. But, when she saw what was outside, she ran back in.

There was a clearing, with sickly-green grass carpeting it. A couple of sheep grazed where they could find enough food, and one large cow was in the middle of the field, chewing on some old-looking hay. It was a farm. No, not just one farm, it was a community of farms. The wall wasn't to keep invaders out, it was to keep Dunbrough's lower class peasants from coming _in._

Back on Berk, the entire island was family. Everyone knew basically everything about everyone, and no one was excluded. Even Hiccup, back when she had both of her legs, had been told about and invited to every event and party that was thrown. This blatant act of discriminating the 'higher ups' from the 'peasants' completely disgusted and confused Hiccup.

She shook her head and turned back to the plaza, not wanting to make a big deal about the wall and the farmers before she had any right to. At the moment, she had only been on Dunbrough for a total of one week. No matter if she was going to be their future queen or not, one week was one week. She needed more information.

She went back to the shops, walking slowly, studying the fascinating objects and trinkets she had never seen at Berk. She went in order, from the rightmost shop to the end of the line, and then she would walk back to the right and start again on the next row. She continued with her pattern until she reached the end of the line closest to the castle.

Unlike all the other shops, there were no displays for her to see, just an open door. Hiccup looked over her shoulder, in case she wasn't supposed to go inside. When no one gave her a warning to stay out, Hiccup went on in.

It smelled like hay and animal. Not exactly like sheep or yak, and definitely not like dragon, but the shop had the distinct smell of domestic animal. Hiccup walked onwards. For the first couple of feet in the shop, there was equipment and saddles lining the walls. Maybe this was a something like a Dunbrough smithy? Hiccup forged onwards, spurred by her curiosity. A couple of feet after the last saddle, there came a choice. It sounded like many people were to the left. Hiccup could hear the men laughing and chatting amongst themselves, along with a woman or two giggling at whatever they were hearing. To the right, Hiccup couldn't hear much of anything.

The choice was obvious. She went right.

There was only one thing there. It was like a room, but for an animal. It was made entirely of wood, and the walls all went up to the ceiling, except for the front wall, which allowed the animal's head and neck to be visible.

Hiccup wasn't exactly sure what sort of animal it was, but it seemed familiar. It's face was long and narrow. Most of it was black, but it had one long white strip running down its face. Intrigued, Hiccup moved closer to the animal. She walked forward and peered into its room. There was hay on the ground, on which the animal stood with its four powerful legs. The hind legs were thicker than the front, and its back was long and sturdy. Hiccup wondered if anyone had ever ridden it. Then, she wondered what exactly it was.

It looked strong. It might even be dangerous. Hiccup had seen the sheep-like hooves on the end of the animal's legs, except this animal's hooves were larger, thicker. They could definitely harm someone if they got in the way.

The worst part about it was its eyes. They weren't exactly as soul-free and mindless as Horke's sheep, but they weren't as expressive as Toothless's eyes. It was like the animal was stuck in some kind of soul purgatory. Maybe this was a bear, the thing all the Dunbroughs seemed so afraid of.

"Hello?" Hiccup asked softly, slowly raising her hand, making sure the animal clearly saw her doing so. "Are you one of those bears everyone's been freaking out about? If you are, I'm unimpressed," Hiccup let her hand fall softly onto the animal's face. Hiccup's hand flinched. She wasn't expecting it to be so soft. She was so used to feeling Toothless's hard scales when touching something so comfortably. "That's ok," Hiccup reassured it, starting to slowly stroke the animal's soft face. "But, I'll have to give you a name. Be warned, I'm not the best at it,"

Hiccup spent the rest of her afternoon with Bear, as she decided to call the animal. Even if it wasn't a real bear, it was dangerous and new. There was really nothing else to call it. Then again, Hiccup wasn't the best namer; she had named the single most dangerous thing on Berk-which clearly had a nice set of sharp, white teeth- Toothless.

Despite her issue with the name, Bear became comfortable with Hiccup faster than Toothless had with her, though she suspected that was because she had to really work hard to earn Toothless's trust. All she had to do for Bear was feed him a carrot and she was allowed into his room.

Hiccup had pet his hair, staring at it in wonder. She had never seen anything like it. Not on an animal anyway. All the sheep had wool, the yaks' hair was always matted and covered in mud and other gross stuff, dragons didn't have hair, and Vikings… Vikings took very good care of their hair, but never left it out in public. It would be shameful to do so.

To keep herself busy, Hiccup cleaned out Bear's stall. She scooped out all the hay and then replenished it. She felt bad for Bear, having to stay in all that filth. She wondered if anyone came to take care of Bear. Everyone in Dunbrough seemed to hate bears. If no one else would look after Bear, then Hiccup decided that she would be the one to. She looked at his water. It was full of old hay and horse hair. She dumped the water out and refilled it. Then, she went to find a brush for Bear. She wanted his coat to gleam.

By the time she was done with all the tasks she had wanted to complete, it was late afternoon, and a servant had been sent to fetch Hiccup. She went and had a small lunch. She was about to go back to Bear's shop, but she spotted the triplets. They were all alone, and they looked so incredibly sad and alone. Hiccup couldn't possibly leave them alone like that. She walked over to them.

"Can I play with you?"

And that's how she spent the remainder of her afternoon, and the rest of the evening. When they were sent to bed, Hiccup went back to her room. All day, she hadn't really seen anyone but her father and the triplets. It was refreshing. She hadn't been alone since she had defeated the Red Death.

Of course, when she was flying, that was different. When she was flying, she was going somewhere and nowhere all at the same time. Her heart soared, and she felt as free as a bird. There were days when Hiccup was convinced she should have been born a dragon. Whenever she'd told Toothless, he had crooned at her, and they had gone faster than before.

Toothless knew that Hiccup loved going fast. Sure, she was fine with a slow, steady pace. But, at the end of the day, she was a Viking. Vikings loved dangerous, unpredictable things. While she might not have been very Viking-like in most other aspects of her life, doing dangerous and stupid things had always been a strong suit of Hiccup's.

Speaking of flying, Toothless would be waiting for her. She waited for a minute before forcing herself up from the comfort of her bed. She knew it would be worth it to see Toothless.

She quietly crept through the halls; her little prank with Ruff, Tuff, and Astrid had been quite the educational experience. She tried to remember the way out of the castle, and though she got lost a couple of times, for the most part, it was an easy journey.

The second she stepped into the forest, it was like her body knew where to go. Hiccup had always felt a sense of ease and calm when she was in the woods. It was like her senses awakened, and she was somewhere where she would always belong, no matter how much the humans around her shunned her.

Hiccup walked swiftly through the dense brush, the stone ground hardly stopping her from seeing Toothless. He was in the same place as before: in the circle of powerful rocks.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Hiccup grinned, running to get to her dragon faster. She threw her arms around him and just stayed there for a second before she pulled away. "We're going to go so fast tonight!"

Every time Hiccup was in the air with Toothless, she couldn't help but think that he could do so much better. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't go as fast as he used to before Hiccup shot him down. Hiccup just wasn't able to react fast enough most of the time. She was working on her reflexes, on really _feeling_ where he was going instead of trying to see where he was headed, but it was difficult. She had made it her personal goal to make sure that Toothless could fly as well and as fast as he could a year ago, with her there to steer with him. And if Hiccup set her mind to something, it was going to happen.

Toothless huffed, but opened his wings and tailfin, waiting for Hiccup to join him. She hopped onto him, latching herself onto him automatically. She pat his neck and he shot up.

Flying was always an exhilarating experience. In the morning, it would wake Hiccup up. In the afternoon, it would calm her down, and let her have some fun in her busy schedule. In the evening, it was calming, and got her ready for bed. At night, though, flying was a different experience altogether.

The stars would be out, and the two of them would be so high that Hiccup would swear she could touch them. Surrounded by darkness, with flecks of light, it was almost impossible to tell which way was up anymore; it was like stepping into a different world completely. The air would be crisp and cold, and it would taste so much clearer and sweeter than any air on the ground, it was like a sweet Hiccup couldn't get enough of. The winds would be still, but Toothless and Hiccup would make their own. It would always be still, silent, but never scary, just comforting. But best of all, Hiccup could see Toothless in his natural element.

He could go as fast as he liked, turn as many times as he wished, but would never crash into anything. He would know exactly how to get back to their starting position just by looking at the stars. He could have hunted with deadly accuracy, but Hiccup always brought him food, so there was no point in wasting energy. Basically, his instincts were perfectly in tuned with the night. And Hiccup loved seeing how happy and at ease he was in the darkness.

"Okay, Sweetie, we can make it this time!" Hiccup encouraged. Her eyes were closed, but she could practically feel him rolling his eyes. "Don't you- wha- why are you rolling your eyes?" Hiccup demanded. Toothless grumbled and rolled his shoulders. "Ungrateful lizard," Hiccup mumbled irritably. "I told you that was an accident."

Toothless snorted. Hiccup suppressed a smile.

"Alright, alright, I'm a bad navigator. I get it! Let's just go, okay?"

So, the two of them started zooming around the sky, and Hiccup had never felt so utterly at peace. She felt Toothless's muscles contract slightly more on the right, and she pushed her leg down accordingly. The two of them zoomed in possibly the tightest turn they had ever made together. Hiccup threw her arms up into the sky and yelled in triumph. She didn't realize what Toothless's warning call meant until it was too late.

Hiccup had pushed her leg down by accident. Because of the way her current prosthetic worked, there was no way she could have noticed that she putting more pressure on Toothless's riding gear than she should have.

"Hold on, Buddy!" Hiccup called. She tried to pull up on her leg, but her prosthetic was stuck. She looked down to the rapidly approaching ground. The wind howled around them, and the air whipped the stray strands of Hiccup's hair into her face like whips. Toothless roared, and Hiccup screamed as she closed her eyes, waiting for the quiet of death.

Hiccup felt Toothless bang into something. At the same time he did, her prosthetic unlatched from Toothless's saddle, and she fell down the last couple of feet to the ground. Toothless _thump_ed down a couple of feet next to her. Hiccup looked over herself, making sure she wasn't hurt before turning to Toothless.

"Are you hurt?"

Toothless had looked over himself while Hiccup had, so he immediately gave her a curt shake of the head.

"What did we bump into?"

Toothless slowly looked to the left, and Hiccup followed suit, looking to her right. It was one of the large boulders which made up the circle of stones. Hiccup and Toothless both cringed as a large crack appeared on the stone's previously flawless face. A couple of pebbles streamed down from the stone, but nothing seemed too damaged. Hiccup turned to Toothless.

"Not a word about this to anyone. Ever,"

Toothless snorted. Hiccup rolled her eyes.

"Who knows? Someone might just want to ask a handsome, smart, extremely talented dragon what happened to the stone. They could only ask you. So, don't give me any of that sass, mister,"

Toothless held his head high, looking smug. He opened one eye a crack, just in time to see Hiccup yawn silently. He moved to her, crooning softly. He nudged her towards the edge of the clearing.

"I'm not that tired, Toothless," Hiccup argued, her voice soft. Toothless gave her a look. She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

"Alright, Toothless. See you tomorrow,"

That night Hiccup went to bed and dreamt of flying through the night sky with Toothless, going faster and faster until they were a blur in the sky. Hiccup smiled in her sleep and snuggled down into her warm covers, a smile spreading lazily on her sleeping face.

**So, I guess a lot of people think that this story is going to revolve around Hiccup and Maraud's married life. That's not true, exactly. For the majority of this story, they're going to be fiancees. Hence, the title. It's going to have romance, that's a given, but there's going to be more, too. Like, an actual plot, with more characters later, and subplots and like... stuff that goes on. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up in case y'alls ever start wondering 'when are they going to get married already?!" Yeah, that doesn't really happen until near the ending. I've planned out all the chapters for this story, so they should be coming out quickly. Like, at least one a week. Thanks for reviewing, following, favoriting, and all that. :)**


	9. Strange Princess

**Chapter 9**

Maraud groaned as his mum shook his shoulder. He squinted irritably at her, and tried to swat her away. His mum, not discouraged at all by his reaction, kept shaking his shoulder, and telling him to wake up.

"Oh, really now, Maraud," she scolded after about five minutes of her trying to shake him awake. "You need to get up. Princess Hiccup is already having dressed and ready for the day,"

Maraud only groaned louder. Of course Princess Hiccup would be awake already, she was basically the complete opposite of him, and his mum loved her for it.

Where Maraud was strong, proud, and determined, the Princess Hiccup was fragile, weak, and willing to do anything to please others. She had probably never fought for anything her whole life, while Maraud had been petitioning for his freedom since his tenth birthday. Though Maraud didn't know for sure, he seriously doubted that there was anything special about Princess Hiccup. What could differentiate her from all the other Princesses Maraud had seen? She probably didn't know how to do anything other than how to be a princess. You know, wake up early, keep weapons off the table, speak clearly to a group of people. Princess-y things. The kind of stuff he didn't have time for.

Maraud rolled out of bed and told his mum to get out. It was his day off; she couldn't tell him to do anything. His mum sighed, and walked briskly out. Maraud turned to look out his large window. He grinned. It was going to be a good day.

* * *

Maraud walked into Angus's stable with purpose, his bow and arrows over his back. He turned right, the direction no one went. Angus didn't really get along with many people. And certainly not with other horses. So, Maraud had a separate stall made for him away from the rest of the horses. The first couple of weeks Angus had been in the stable, the stable boys had tried to clean out his stall, but it was quickly learned that that job was best suited to Maraud, and only Maraud.

Which is why It was very odd that when Maraud got to Angus's stall, his horse was already brushed, and his stall mucked, and his water and food replenished. No one was stupid enough to go near Angus, especially not without Maraud there to protect them from Angus's wrath. Maraud backtracked and turned left at the turn.

"Oi, you," he called to the head stable boy, Henry.

"Yes, Y'r Highness?"

"Who cleaned Angus's stall?" Maraud asked, scratching his head. Henry looked as flabbergasted as Maraud felt.

"Sorry, Sir? Did you just say that someone went to Angus's stall?"

"And then brushed him, cleaned his stall, and gave him fresh food and water,"

"Sorry, Highness. I haven't heard of anyone going to see your steed. If I hear anything new, though, I'll be sure to tell you, Sir,"

"Alright," Maraud couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Thanks, Henry," Henry nodded and went back to work, leaving Maraud to wonder about Angus's mysterious new care-taker. He walked back to his horse, checking the inside of his stall. There was not the slightest sign of a scuffle, and Angus was calmer than he usually was. Maraud just couldn't tame his curiosity. Usually, Angus didn't open up to anyone new without biting or kicking quite a bit. If anyone got Angus to trust him without all of that, Maraud definitely wanted to meet him.

Angus usually gravitated towards adventurous people; people who weren't afraid to be brave, and fight for what they wanted. If Angus found any of those people, Maraud really wanted to meet him. He must have been a very interesting person to get Angus to like him so easily. Probably more interesting of a person than Maraud was used to having around. Not that Maraud couldn't handle interesting, because he could. He really just… wanted something different.

Maraud sighed as he turned to Angus.

"You couldn't have caused a commotion _this_ time? The _one _time I need you to draw attention to yourself, and you chose to be a good horse and stay quiet?"

Angus breathed on Maraud's hair, and Maraud chuckled a little, patting Angus's neck.

"Don't worry," he told Angus. "I'll forgive you this one time,"

Before Maraud had the chance to even put a saddle on Angus, a squire came running to Maraud, shifting his weight from foot to foot, looking at Angus every couple of seconds. Maraud grinned. It was always amusing for Maraud to see the reactions of people who had bad experiences with Angus squirm around the horse.

"Sorry, Highness," the squire said to him, and Maraud's shoulders slumped incredulously. He knew where this was going.

"Are you serious?" he demanded, stepping closer to the squire. Being him, Angus started stomping angrily at the stone floor. The squire started sweating, but Maraud didn't care. "This is my off day! The one day that I can do anything I want! Why would she possibly call me back now?"

The squire gulped, but whimpered,

"P-please, Sir. I have a family at home. If you don't come with me, I'll be fired,"

Maraud ran his hand through his unruly hair, tugging at a nasty tangle. He made a face at the squire before sighing. As much as he wanted to run off to show his mother that she couldn't control him on his off days, he didn't want the squire to get fired.

"Fine," Maraud said. "I'll be there in a minute. You can go tell her,"

The squire bowed, and Maraud looked away awkwardly. He never could get used to all the bowing. It was especially awful to be behind a man when they were bowing to his parents. Honestly, they needed to stop wearing such short kilts.

Maraud looked at Angus and stroked him softly on the neck.

"Sorry, Angus. I guess not today,"

Maraud was waiting, bored. His mother had been delighted to see him, and then sent him to sit and wait for something in the dining room. He had already traced the patterns of the grains of the wood on the entire table. Twice.

Maraud leaned back and blew a stray lock of his fiery hair out of his face.

"Maraud?"

The prince looked up. It was Princess Hiccup. But, she didn't look the same. Her hair was still in a messy bun, her eyes still looked unbelievably intelligent, and her face was still splattered with freckles. So, it couldn't be any of those things. So, what was so different about her?

It was the way she walked. Before, she was comfortable, and she moved with a silent ease, even if she was a bit clumsy and stumbled a couple times more than her friends did. She also looked really tired, and uncomfortable. She was smiling, but Maraud knew it was fake. He had worn smiles like that before. On the inside, she was cringing. Why?

Maraud looked down a bit more, and he suddenly realized why she was so uncomfortable. She wasn't wearing her weird Viking clothes anymore. Instead, she was dressed in a light purple traditional Scottish dress. No doubt she did it for his mother.

Still, Hiccup was a beautiful girl. Even Maraud couldn't deny that. And in the dress, she looked better than normal. Well, she would have if her face hadn't looked so strained.

In a few short minutes, Hiccup stood almost directly in front of Maraud. He could hear his mum starting to come down the stairs, but he was just staring at the girl in front of him. And, he would have kept staring for an embarrassingly long time if it weren't for his sisters.

He didn't exactly notice them, but he knew they were around. Before he could be worried about it, he felt a sharp poke to his back. Immediately, he thought that the castle was under attack. He pulled out his sword and twirled around, looking for an enemy. Out of habit, he swung around his sisters, but when he saw a stranger in purple, he slashed at it before he realized that it was just Hiccup.

When he understood exactly what he did, the sword clattered to the ground next to him. He could hear his sisters giggling in glee next to him. He would deal with them later. For the moment, he turned to Princess Hiccup.

"My apologies, Princess…" he trailed off. The princess wasn't hurt. That was odd. He had aimed to injure. The only way his sword only cut her dress was if she had jumped back at the last second. But… what kind of princess had reflexes like that?

Maraud watched the princess as she pulled at the slash in the beautiful garment.

"Swina bqllr!" Hiccup murmured angrily. Maraud recoiled. What had she just said? "Meyla frafla mikli thur syr!"

Was she... cursing? Did princesses even curse? Maraud couldn't wrap his mind around it, and it was especially hard to concentrate as Hiccup pulled the slashed bit of cloth up towards her face, exposing even more skin.

Maraud didn't mean to, but his eyes moved on their own. He found himself staring at her uncovered abdomen. Before he could be embarrassed, he noticed that she had quite well defined abdominal muscles. He wondered what she did to get in shape like that. He also couldn't help but notice that the Viking princess wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed to have an open stomach. Most of the other princesses he had talked to became flustered when the slightest inch of their ankles became visible. Princess Hiccup truly was an enigma.

After a second of just staring at her stomach, Maraud realized what he was doing. His face burned, and he swallowed, turning abruptly to the right. He sighed dejectedly when his eyes met his mum's own furious ones. He knew he was in for it. And for once, he had not a single argument for his side.


	10. Faster

**Chapter 10**

Hiccup was making her way to the stables- the shop that Bear stayed in. She had talked Eleanor out of making her wear the Scottish dress, saying that she wanted to keep a _little_ bit of Berk with her, at least. Sympathetically, Eleanor had hugged her, and Hiccup had felt a mother's embrace for the first time in about ten years. It had felt nice, but it made Hiccup's stomach turn with unease. In the warmth of Eleanor's hug, Hiccup couldn't help but think that she wouldn't be getting any more of that kind of comfort from her father. At least, not for a very long time.

"Good morning," Hiccup mumbled to the shop owner before quickly paying for a couple of carrots for Bear. Hiccup's thoughts wandered as the shop keeper went to get her a bag for her carrots.

Even though her relationship with Eleanor was great, Hiccup worried about having to live without her friends, or her family. Last night, Hiccup had learned that a couple of punk Dunbrough teenagers had thought it would be funny to mess with her father's ship. While their destruction had kept her family on Dunbrough for a while longer, Hiccup still wasn't able to see them. They were too busy, trying to help fix the boat so that they could go back home. Back to their dragons. It was like they weren't there at all. Like she was already alone.

It wouldn't be so bad, living without her father, or Astrid, or Ruffnut, or Snotlout, or Tuffnut, or Fishlegs. She still had Toothless. Only, she didn't. Not really. It's not like Hiccup could disappear all day, go to the castle for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then disappear all night, too.

What would happen if anyone figured out that she was leaving so often? They would automatically assume the worst: that Hiccup was conspiring against Dunbrough, or that she was having an affair. Either offence, whether it was proven or not, would be enough for Maraud to break his engagement with Hiccup. And that was something which Hiccup couldn't afford, even if it meant that she could only see her buddy at night.

"Ooomph!" Hiccup stumbled back, but the same hard wall she had just run into reached out and steadied her. Wait, walls don't have arms…

Hiccup looked up and gasped. In front of her was Maraud, still holding her upright. He looked surprised, his eyes wide, and his eyebrows hiding behind a few loose strands of his red hair.

"S-sorry, Princess Hiccup," the prince mumbled, letting go of her like she was made of fire.

Hiccup blinked. Whatever she had been expecting him to say, it certainly wasn't that. She hadn't been living in the castle for a very long time, but it was long enough of a time to hear the way he constantly screamed at and argued with his mother. While she personally had not spoken to Maraud more than three times, she had always assumed that he was rude and dismissive, like he was with most of his servants. Instead, here he was, embarrassed and trying to be polite.

"Oh, no, it was my fault," Hiccup blushed, thinking of ways to make her prosthetic more stable. "I wasn't exactly paying close attention to where I was going,"

Maraud nodded, and looked at the sky. He stuttered for a bit, then blurted out,

"Lovely day we're having, huh?"

"Uhh…" Hiccup wasn't a socially savvy person, but she was sure that she had never led a conversation this awkward before. She looked up at the cloudy sky. "I guess…" She looked back at Maraud, who looked like he was trying to think of something else to say. Hiccup took pity on him, and said,

"I'm about to head over to a cool shop you guys have that we don't on Berk. Would you like to come with me?"

"Of course!" Maraud answered immediately. Hiccup smiled up at him and started leading him to the 'stables.' That's what everyone called it, anyway. She still had her bag with the carrots, and when Maraud offered to carry it for her, Hiccup laughed and said that she could handle it.

"So, it's called a 'stable,'" Hiccup explained, and Maraud looked a bit confused. She explained, "The shop we're going. Everyone calls it a stable. I'm not really sure what you're supposed to buy, but I found a really lonely animal, and I've been taking care of him,"

"Well, the animal you saw is probably a horse," Maraud offered, giving Hiccup an odd look.

"A horse?" Hiccup said softly. Her mouth scrunched to the side, and Hiccup spent the rest of the walk in silence, wondering if she had ever heard of a horse before. When they got to the stable, Hiccup practically ran in and to the right. Maraud was a couple of feet behind her, but when she called out to her new friend, he yelled,

"Princess, stay away from him!"

"Bear!" Hiccup called out, and she pulled out a carrot and fed Bear. The animal ate the vegetable before gently nuzzling Hiccup on the head. Hiccup giggled and turned to look back at Maraud. He was standing frozen, mouth hanging open, eyes bugging out. Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"He's not… he's not attacking you,"

Hiccup turned back to Bear and laughed. She stroked his soft nose and said to Maraud,

"No, he's not like that. Bear is just a big sweetheart that everyone's afraid of. I'm really not sure why you're all so afraid of him,"

"Well, like I said earlier, that's not a bear-"

"He's a horse?" Hiccup guessed. She nodded, and said, "But isn't everyone still afraid of him? Isn't that why he's kept him away from all the other horses and humans?"

"Yes. We do keep _Angus_ away from everyone. That's because he doesn't usually take a liking to people like he has to you. Would you… would you like to go for a ride? With me? On him?" Maraud rubbed the back of his neck, and he wouldn't meet Hiccup's gaze.

"Well, if Angus is alright with it, then I'm sure I have time," Hiccup smiled shyly. Maraud grinned at her and hoisted a saddle onto Angus's broad back.

"I'm sure he'd be glad to have you on his back, Princess Hiccup,"

Hiccup made a face.

"Please," she asked. "Just Hiccup,"

"Alright," Maraud blushed while working on correctly strapping Angus's saddle on him. "Just Hiccup then,"

Hiccup sat behind Maraud on Be-Angus. Hiccup's arms were wrapped loosely around Maraud's waist, and her chin was resting on his shoulder. He had offered to take her for a ride on Angus. What Hiccup hadn't realized was that 'a ride' meant that they were going to be _walking_ around the _plaza_.

She thought it was very nice of Maraud to let her ride on Angus. She knew that it wasn't that easy for her to let people fly on Toothless with her. But, while he was being very sweet, he was also being a little bit… boring. Hiccup tried her best not to sound ungrateful as she said,

"This is very nice, Maraud," The prince in front of her hummed, and Hiccup could feel the vibrations through her chest and arms. She sighed, but continued, "I really am glad that you took me out on your… horse, but do you think we could go… faster?"

Maraud stiffened, and turned to look back at her. One of his eyebrows was raised, and he asked,

"Faster?" he almost sounded like he couldn't believe she had asked for faster. Why was he so surprised? Didn't he know anything about Vikings? Maybe… maybe Angus couldn't _go_ faster.

"If we can't go faster, that's fine, too!" Hiccup panicked, and she tensed behind Maraud, afraid that she might have offended him.

"Oh, no. We can go fast, Princess," Hiccup was about to tell him to call her Hiccup, but then she realized that he was just teasing her. "You'll just need to hang on,"

Hiccup felt his legs squeeze Angus's sides, and the large black horse started moving a little faster. Hiccup sighed at the feeling of wind on her face.

"Here we go, Hiccup," Maraud warned before he squeezed again. Angus moved even faster, and Hiccup bounced in her seat. She laughed in amazement as she tightened her grip around Maraud's waist. She had flown faster than this- much faster. But, she had never had a ride so consistently bouncy and steady and the same time. And... she had never ridden behind anyone. She was always in the front. This was a welcome change. Hiccup threw her head back and let out a whoop before laughing into the wind again.

As the three of them raced through the forest, Hiccup noticed they were on a very well-worn path. The same well-worn path Hiccup traveled on to get to Toothless at night. Hiccup recognized most of the hills they ran over, the streams they jumped across, the trees they avoided.

A black shadow crossed over Hiccup and Maraud for the fifth time, and Hiccup smiled up at the treetops, silently telling Toothless that she was fine, and just having a good time.

Maraud noticed that even though the ride was much wilder, and much much faster, the princess clinging to his abdomen seemed infinitely happier. Her muscles were tenser, and she held onto him tighter, of course, but she somehow seemed more at ease. Like this was her natural habitat. Like this was where she belonged.

As Maraud led Angus through a particularly sharp turn, he felt Hiccup's arms wrapping more securely around his stomach. He heard her laughing behind him, and he felt her pressed up against him. Maraud found himself liking riding with Hiccup, almost more than she seemed to enjoy it.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup woke up and walked down the stairs to the dining room. She had finally seen a bear last night. After her and Maraud had gone on the thrilling ride, he had dropped her off at the castle. Dinner had been mostly uneventful, and as soon as everyone filed away, Hiccup had lugged a basketful of fish to Toothless. The smell had attracted a large brown thing.

It stood on all fours, and its hair was as shaggy as a yak's. It's eyes were as soulless as Horke's sheep. It was as dangerous as Angus- what with its long talons and sharp teeth. Almost immediately, Hiccup had thought that it was a bear. She had turned away from it and continued onward, determined to give Toothless his dinner.

Luckily, Toothless was close-by. The second Toothless had growled at the bear, it had turned around and ran. Hiccup didn't think that it was all that scary. But, was that thing really a bear? She had thought Angus was a bear at first. How was she to know exactly what a bear was, and what wasn't?

Hiccup kept walked down the stairs until a taxidermy animal caught her attention. It was just like the animal she had seen last night, except this one stood on two legs. And… this one was dead.

It just so happened that King Fergus was walking by while Hiccup was studying the animal.

"King Fergus?" Hiccup called to him. The large man turned to face her, and Hiccup felt a wave of relaxation flow over her at the familiarity of being dwarfed by large people around her. In Dunbrough, it seemed like she was one of the tallest women in the entire town. It made Hiccup very uncomfortable, actually, standing out so much, and not in the way she was used to.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Oh, please," Hiccup smiled, "Call me Hiccup,"

"Alright," King Fergus nodded eagerly, " Just Hiccup, then," Hiccup smiled at how similar the king was to his son.

"Do you know what type of animal this is?" Hiccup asked. Fergus's face darkened, and Hiccup waited for his answer.

"Aye, lass," King Fergus answered gravely. "That's what a bear is,"

Hiccup took another sidelong look at it.

"Thank you, King Fergus. I'll see you at breakfast, then,"

King Fergus smiled as he nodded, and kept walking to the dining room. Hiccup spent another couple of minutes studying the bear.

Again, she didn't think that it was so scary. But then, Hiccup thought like a Dunbrough native. These people didn't have any dragons, or gnomes, or trolls. If they weren't afraid of bears, what else _could _they be afraid of?

Hiccup shook her head as she walked towards the dining room. Maybe Snotlout was right. Maybe she really _did_ think too much about impossibly pointless things.

**So, here's the next chapter! You can be happy about the Mericup fluff. There'll be a bit more in the next couple of chapters, but things really start to spice up around chapter 15. In the middle of this chapter was a line, something like, "** that Hiccup was conspiring against Dunbrough, or that she was having an affair. Either offence, whether it was proven or not, would be enough for Maraud to break his engagement with Hiccup." **Yeah, that was kind of like a shout-out to one of my most dedicated reviewers. Her (I hope it's a her) name's ElionFrost, and I simply love how much she reviews, so I decided to use one of her ideas in a way which wouldn't impact the plan I have for this story. Oh! I planned out the whole plot, and I broke it up into chapters. It looks like there's going to be, like, forty chapters. Don't worry! I won't abandon the story, and I'll try to update fast. Anyways, till next time. Thanks for following, favoriting, and reviewing! :)**


	11. Fixing a Saddle

**Chapter 11**

Hiccup woke up tired. Again. It was almost like back when she was trying to keep Toothless a secret on Berk. Actually, it was exactly like when she was trying to keep Toothless a secret on Berk. The only difference in this situation was that she was in Dunbrough. Hiccup sighed.

She knew from experience that the feeling of being exhausted was going to become natural to her soon enough. All Hiccup could do was not let anyone know just how tired really she was. If she let it slip, then they would wonder why. And then they would find out about her nightly trips into the woods. Obviously, they would get curious about where she was going, and then it would only be a matter of time until they found out about Toothless. And that couldn't happen. The Dunbroughs were nowhere near ready to accept Toothless. Hiccup still had her work cut out for her. For now, she would just have to go through her days like normal.

If Hiccup was like anyone else in Dunbrough, she would have shivered when she climbed out of her bed. But, Hiccup was still very much a Viking. She embraced the cold as she left the warmth of the covers, but groaned when she started walking. She and Toothless had done a lot of hard flying last night, and Hiccup's body was still slightly sore.

Hiccup started walking slugglishly to the stables, and was surprised to find Maraud already there. He didn't seem like the type to wake up early, and it certainly was early. Hiccup had always been an early riser, even by Viking standards. Right then, not even half of the store owners were even _starting_ to walk to their shops.

Maraud was holding Angus's saddle in his arms, and muttering angrily. As Hiccup walked closer, she realized why. The leather was scratched up, and a couple of the strings were chewed up, or missing. Maraud was pursing his lips together, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened, but Hiccup had a feeling she knew.

Hiccup had thought Toothless was acting a little strange during their flight. He almost seemed angry. But whenever Hiccup had asked him about it, Toothless had shaken off her concern, or her hand. When Hiccup finally convinced Toothless to let her down because it was too late, he had had a strange glint in his eyes.

At the time, Hiccup hadn't understood. But now she did. Toothless had been jealous. And the odd look in his eyes? He had been planning on destroying the saddle since the very beginning. Hiccup wondered how he managed to get in and out of the plaza without anyone noticing him. Then, Hiccup mentally face-palmed. She had said it herself. He was a Night Fury. If there was any dragon who could pull off such a low key mission, it would be him.

"Hey, Maraud," Hiccup said as she stood next to him. She tried acting like nothing was wrong, but she felt so incredibly guilty about his saddle. If only Dunbrough had a smithy…

"Hmm? Oh, good morning, Pri- Hiccup," Maraud mumbled absentmindedly. Even though Hiccup hadn't asked anything, Maraud theorized, "I'm not exactly sure what happened, but if I were to bet, I'd say this was the doing of those da-" Maraud snuck a look at Hiccup and cleared his throat, "Those same teens that damaged your ship,"

Hiccup pursed her lips, and scrunched them to the side. She gently pulled the saddle from Maraud's hands and examined it. The leather was torn, yes, but the basic mold and frame was untouched. Hiccup let out a small smile. At the end of the day, Toothless was a gentle dragon, who never really wanted to destroy or break anything.

Hiccup ran an analytical eye over the saddle. She remembered the days when she had to constantly fix her and Toothless's saddle, back before she added a harness to keep her on the saddle. She had become quite the expert with working with leather. If she was right, then the repairs for the saddle would only take about an hour, if they even took that long.

"Does Dunbrough have a smithy?" she asked Maraud. He looked at her for a second before asking,

"A blacksmiths, you mean?" Hiccup nodded, and Maraud said, "Of course we do! We're not just a run-down kingdom in the middle of nowhere, you know!"

Maraud tried his hardest not to get too annoyed. Really, he did. He knew that Pr- Hiccup didn't mean to be rude or disrespectful. He just wanted her to know that of course his home had a 'smithy' as she called it. Dunbrough was quite advanced, if he did say so himself. It just irked him whenever anyone underestimated his home.

He led her to the smithy, insisting on holding the saddle. Hiccup had tried to argue, saying that she was fine, but Maraud just took it from her instead of arguing. He didn't know why, but he had a sense that she was just as stubborn as he was.

"This is it," Maraud said, placing the mangled saddle on a table in the middle of the blacksmiths. He would get McFeely to fix it for him later. Right then, Maraud was only interested on the look of joy on Hiccup's face.

The second she had walked into the threshold of the blacksmith's, her face had lit up, and her fingers had started twitching. Maraud leaned against the table behind him and looked at the pretty girl in front of him.

"So," he asked, "What do you think?"

Hiccup turned to him and smiled.

"I think it's great!"

She then started walking through the shop like she had been born and raised in it. Maraud turned to watch her. He wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, and if she was about to do something dangerous, he wanted to make sure that she was safe. Maraud mentally shivered at the thought of what his mum's reaction would be if she learned that Hiccup got hurt, and Maraud was there and didn't help her at all.

Hiccup walked to the opposite wall and slipped on a thick apron, tying the strings behind her like it was second nature. Her hair was already in an untidy bun, but she decided that it wasn't good enough. She looked at Maraud for a second, blushing, before quickly letting her hair down.

Maraud's breath caught in his throat. He already knew Hiccup was a beautiful girl, but she looked down-right goddess-like with her hair down, framing her face perfectly.

She quickly pulled it back up again, tighter, and refused to look at Maraud for a couple of minutes. She went to a room in the back that Maraud hadn't even noticed before, and came out with a box of leather, a spool of thick thread, a thick needle, and a pair of scissors.

Hiccup put the box down on a small stool, and went to stand in front of Maraud. He stared at her, and she blushed lightly before saying with a small smile on her face,

"Maraud? The saddle is behind you,"

"Hmm?" he hummed stupidly. Hiccup laughed a little.

"Can you hand it to me?"

"Oh! Of course!" He turned around before she could see the blush on his face. "Here ye are,"

"Thanks," Hiccup smiled up sweetly at him, and Maraud pursed his lips. He watched as Hiccup went back to the box of leather and tools, and started working. The smile was wiped from her face as she started to concentrate, and Maraud found that he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

She moved with practiced ease, like she had fixed a saddle thousands of times before. She quickly cut off the unsalvageable bits of leather and threw them into a different box she had dragged over. Then, she started sewing the loose strands back onto the frame of the saddle. And for all the bare patches of saddle, she pulled out new pieces of leather, measuring them out precisely before cutting them in the exact size and shape she needed. She sewed them on quickly, but accurately, and before Maraud knew it, Hiccup was holding the saddle out to him. He took it from her, and took a second to admire the craftsmanship.

If he hadn't known that the saddle wasn't meant to look like that, there was no way he could have figured it out. Hiccup sewed the patches of leather on so that they covered the base, but so that they made a design, and also would give him more traction when riding. It was a beautiful saddle, and Maraud couldn't figure out how a princess would know how to do that.

Maraud found that Hiccup actually did that a lot- surprising him. And, he was starting to think that he liked it. A lot.

**So, there's some more Mericup fluff! I felt really happy while writing it, and hashed it out in like, twenty minutes. There's not going to be a lot of straight up fluff like this in the story as a whole, so enjoy it while you can get it! Like I said earlier, this is going to be a long fic, so it'll be a while until Toothless is 'introduced' to the Dunbroughs. I think I said this before, but things really start to spice up around chapter 15. Interpret that as you will. You really won't find out until I get there. I might need to change this story to T soon. If you have anything against that, PM or review, and tell me, and I'll see what I can do, but I think in the next day or so I'll do that, if no one had any major objections. Thanks for following and reviewing! It's awesome that people like this story, and I can't wait until the next update :)**


	12. Monster

**Chapter 12**

Eleanor beamed at Hiccup. The queen had found the young girl and had led her to the small room she used as a class room for her son. Dunbrough only had thirty years of history as a kingdom, and Hiccup already knew it all. Eleanor glanced at her son, seated by the corner furthest from her. She sighed and shook her head at his sleeping figure. She had been trying to teach him for ten years what Hiccup already knew, and all of their lessons ended up the same: him sleeping, and her frustrated.

"So, who saved the king in the Battle of Moors?" Eleanor asked, just to finalize that Hiccup knew everything she needed to in order to rule successfully.

"The Lord McGuffin," Hiccup answered tiredly. While Hiccup liked Queen Eleanor, the lesson she was giving was a bit long and tedious. She was so glad that her father and Fishlegs had already drilled all those facts into her brain on the journey to Dunbrough.

Hiccup stretched, and in doing so, caught sight of Maraud. He had his long legs stretched in front of him, arms crossed over his muscular stomach- maybe Hiccup had held on a bit tighter than she needed to on her ride with him- and his defined jaw was resting on his chest. He was sleeping. Hiccup blushed lightly before she sighed wistfully.

For the past two weeks, Hiccup had stayed out with Toothless late into the night, practicing trickier and more physically demanding flying maneuvers. It was exhilarating, but when Hiccup woke up early the next morning, she would always feel exhausted and heavy, like her bones were infused with iron. It wasn't like after she woke up she got the entire day off. She had started exploring the forge, helping McFeely with some of the simpler jobs he trusted her with. And, she also had to please Eleanor by going to the odd history or manners class with Maraud.

Hiccup wasn't sure if it was because she was there to distract his mother, or because it was his habit, but every lesson followed the same basic pattern.

Queen Eleanor would ask Maraud a question, he wouldn't know the answer. Queen Eleanor would ask Hiccup the same question, and Hiccup would answer correctly. Queen Eleanor would elaborate on the subject, and Maraud's breathing would get deeper, and more even. Queen Eleanor would keep talking, with her calming voice, and Hiccup would struggle to keep her eyelids open.

Hiccup's head dipped forward, but shot straight back up. She couldn't fall asleep! What would Eleanor think? Hiccup heard Maraud start snoring lightly, and it was strangely relaxing. He inhaled. Hiccup's eyelids drooped. He exhaled. She would let her eyelids close, just this once. To rest them. She wasn't falling asleep. Maraud inhaled again, and Queen Eleanor kept talking. Hiccup could feel unconsciousness tugging at her mind.

Hiccup thought of Maraud, sleeping peacefully in the corner. He looked so care-free and relaxed. Hiccup wanted to feel that way. She followed his exempt, seeking the solace of a time free of responsibility.

* * *

Hiccup woke up because of something sharp digging into her ribs. She forced her eyes open to see what was in bed with her. The sight in front of her made Hiccup smile. It was the three triplets: Hilda, Helen, and Hilary.

No matter how much trouble they got into during the day, they looked downright adorable when they were sleeping. They were all wearing light blue nightdresses, and their hair was let loose. With all three of them sleeping next to each other, it looked like Hiccup's bed had been taken over by a tangled mass of red yarn. One of them started snoring, and the sister closest to her- Hilda, Hiccup thought- searched with her chubby little arm until she found her sister's mouth and covered it.

Hiccup did her best to suppress her laughter as she slowly eased herself up and looked out the window. The sky was as black as Mildew's heart. Even though Hiccup was still exhausted, and sleep sounded heavenly, Hiccup missed Toothless more than she felt the bed and all its warmth calling to her.

Hiccup had gotten to be an expert sneaker during her weeks in Dunbrough, so going to the kitchen, grabbing the fish Toothless would need, and then stepping lightly to the forest was like a piece of cake.

While she was walking through the forest, Hiccup thought of her family. They were still in the castle. She had seen the boat. What she hadn't realized about the teenagers in Dunbrough was that they were just as crazy as her and Berk's Viking teenagers. They had practically destroyed her ship. Repairing all the damage would take a couple more weeks, at least. Hiccup sighed softly as she wondered whether or not she would be able to live a life of perpetual loneliness again. It had been so exhausting the first time, and she had only survived because she hadn't known what it was like to have friends. Now, though, she knew. And since she knew, living away from people would be so much harder.

A rustling in a nearby bush brought Hiccup out of her reverie. She paused and looked to the right, where the leaves and trees rustled again. _Oh,_ Hiccup realized.

"Hmmm," Hiccup said, feigning ignorance. "I wonder where Toothless is," Hiccup put down the basket of fish she had been hauling on her back. She stretched out her back, sighing in pleasure as her spine cracked.

The bushes rustled again, and Hiccup smirked. He was still at it?

"Toothless?" Hiccup called out, moving closer to the bush. "Well, darn," Hiccup overdramatized her disappointment, hoping to bring Toothless out of the shrubbery. She failed. "Who else am I supposed to give all this fish to?"

Toothless still didn't come out, and Hiccup was getting frustrated. She hadn't seen him all day, and she missed him.

"Buddy, I get that you're trying to be funny, but," Hiccup was right in front of the trembling area of greenery, "I miss you! Now come out!"

Instead of Toothless coming out, he let out a frantic cry. It almost sounded like a warning call. Hiccup froze. Toothless was calling to her from the left. The massive wall of bushes and shrubs were still trembling in front of her. Hiccup whirled to the left, just in time to see Toothless burst into the miniature clearing Hiccup was in.

Before Hiccup could properly soak in the new bit of information, a massive beast escaped from the bushes and swung a heavy paw at Hiccup. Only flying with Toothless for countless days and nights gave Hiccup the reflexes to jump back. Even then, the thing managed to slash at Hiccup's stomach. Hiccup doubled over and cried out in pain.

She looked up through her bangs and her eyes widened. Of course. Even after she and Toothless managed to defeat the Red Death- a dragon larger than a _mountain_\- Hiccup was going to die at the hands of something large, dangerous, and not exactly normal.

It was like a bear, but it wasn't. Instead of brown hair, like she had seen on the other two bears, this one had black hair. Its eyes were soulless, but they were intelligent, and that sent shivers down Hiccup's spine. Unlike Toothless's warm intelligence, these eyes studied her with a cold understanding, as if only trying to figure out the most painful way to end her. Also different than the other bears, this one was easily three times the size of Toothless, and it had patches of leather blending with its fur. It had arrows and broken blades sticking out of it. But, most terrifying of all: it was heading right towards her.

Hiccup stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the monster, and cried out,

"Toothless!"

In an instant, her best friend dashed forward and flung her onto his back, not having enough time to be gentle. That was okay. He knew she was a Viking. She could take it. Toothless took off before Hiccup even had her foot in the stirrup, having enough faith in her to that she would be ready in time, and that they wouldn't crash and die. His trust it her wasn't misplaced. At a couple hundred feet in the air, Hiccup finally had her prosthetic fitted properly in the mechanism, and they were flying smoothly.

Hiccup tried to take a breath of the cold air. Usually it would calm her down and steady her from the inside out. That time, however, as soon as she sucked in a lungful of air, she groaned in pain. Hiccup's arm immediately went to her abdomen, and Toothless crooned worriedly.

"Don't worry, Toothless," Hiccup said. "Everything's fine,"

Toothless huffed angrily, and Hiccup moaned,

"Alright, so everything's _not_ fine," Hiccup looked down and pulled her arm away from her stomach. Her arm and the shirt sleeve were both drenched in blood. Hiccup started to feel lightheaded and dizzy. "_Not_ fine at all. Toothless, I'm losing too much blood,"

Toothless roared lightly, but it sounded faint in Hiccup's foggy head.

"Yeah, they're here. A couple of rebellious Dunbrough teenagers messed up the boat, so they couldn't leave," Hiccup slurred, and her head slumped, but Toothless somehow bounced in midair, causing Hiccup to groan in pain.

Toothless made a quick yelp-like sound, which Hiccup had never heard before.

"What?"

Toothless repeated the sound, and Hiccup said,

"They're in the castle. But you can't take me there, Sweetie," Even half conscious, Hiccup was determined to make sure Toothless was safe. There was no way he could take her to the third story of a castle, hop down, run back to the woods, and not get caught.

Toothless roared incredulously, and Hiccup could feel his shoulders drop a little. Hiccup took a slow breath to clear her mind, and pressed harder against her abdomen. She winced at the pain, but knew it needed to be done. She had to slow the bleeding.

"The saddle was different. You were on the ground the entire time, and it was just you. If Astrid and Ruff are involved, I can almost guarantee that there'll be yelling,"

Toothless flicked at her with one of his ears.

"Ah!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Fine! They're over there. No, no. To the right. One more window over. Here we are,"

Already exhausted, Hiccup slid out of the saddle, then turned to Toothless and told him to go back to the forest, and that there was a basketful of fish waiting for him in the small clearing he had saved her from. It only took a minute of persuasion for Toothless to turn, jump, and run. Hiccup made sure he understood that she was going to be stubborn this time. And there was no one more stubborn than a stubborn Hiccup. Toothless knew that. Astrid knew that. Hel, Stoic knew that.

Hiccup struggled to open Astrid's window and fell inside, curling up on the ground in a ball of pain.

It shouldn't have come as a shock, but for some reason, Hiccup hadn't been expecting Astrid's first reaction to an unknown intruder in her room to be a raised battle axe.

"Hiccup?" Astrid whispered in disbelief after she studied the figure on the ground for a second.

"Mhmm," Hiccup groaned, a small pool of blood spread out around her form.

"Oh gods!" Astrid cried quietly, and threw her axe down. She rushed to the smaller girl and helped her sit up. "Ruff, get up! Get a bowl of water and grab one of my extra shirts,"

Ruff was also up, and standing quietly in the corner, but went straight to work at Astrid's command. Astrid slowly helped Hiccup to stand, and practically carried her to a bed. Hiccup collapsed and started shivering. She was so cold…

"Hey now," Astrid said sternly, slapping Hiccup on the face, none too lightly. "Don't you go dying on us because of some stupid scratch, Dragon Conqueror,"

Hiccup mustered all of her strength and shook her head. She mumbled,

"Not a scratch,"

"Here," Ruffnut ran over, the bowl surprisingly still full of water. She had Astrid's shirt in her hands, and Astrid ripped it into long strips.

"Was out with Toothless," Hiccup tried to start.

"Shut up for a bit," Ruff demanded softly, but Hiccup needed to be heard. While her friends ripped her shirt off of her and cleaned the four long gashes on her stomach, Hiccup told them about her trip to the forest. Between Hiccup's hisses and groans of pain, Astrid and Ruff learned of the creature in Dunbrough's forest.

"We're going to have to stitch these, Hiccup," Astrid murmured worriedly.

"So shut up for a bit," Ruff repeated her earlier statement before she went to get some wire and a needle.

"If you make a sound, people are going to hear. They're going to want to know where you got hurt this bad," Astrid whispered slowly. Hiccup tried to roll her eyes, but ended up just closing them.

"Just 'cause I'm half dead doesn't mean I'm stupid," Hiccup muttered. "I get it. If I make a sound, Toothless will be in danger. Don't worry," Hiccup took a ragged breath. "Not a sound,"

"Here," Ruff whispered as she knelt down by Hiccup. "Now, for the love of the gods-"

"Shut up. I get it," Hiccup mumbled drearily. She opened her eyelids a crack, just in time to see Astrid and Ruffnut exchange glances worriedly. Astrid held the needle over the small flame of their candle before doing the same with the wire. Then she strung it, and Hiccup braced herself.

Astrid took a deep breath before she began. Hiccup's eyes started to water, and she was positive that she bit through her lip to keep from crying out, but it was worth it. If she made a sound, Toothless would be in danger. There was no way that she was going to do anything to put her best friend in danger.

Hiccup thought of the good times. When she had just met Toothless, and was still learning about him. When she introduced Astrid to him, and he seemed to hate her. When the two of them saved everyone from the Red Death. When her entire village accepted Toothless, and didn't even argue when she wanted to go on a flight with him. When they started gravitating towards more complex and physically demanding maneuvers. When they started trusting each other with their lives.

"You're all done, Hiccup," Astrid said, but Hiccup could barely hear her. She was done being strong for the night. She didn't need to hold on anymore. Hiccup started to drift off to sleep, but she managed to whisper,

"The thing in the woods… not a bear… 's a monster…"

**So... yeah. The story's not all soft and fluffy anymore, huh? Don't worry, it's not all like this. The Viking teens are going to stay for a long time, but they'll eventually leave, too. Maraud's meeting with Toothless is coming soon, and I really doubt that it's going to be like what you guys imagined it being. That meeting... it leads to a lot of things, plot wise, and in their relationship. **


	13. Commonalities and Proof

**Chapter 13**

Hiccup woke up and couldn't think. Her mind was a blank; all she knew was the pain she was breathless from. It took too many long, tear-jerking moments, all of which Hiccup was writing on the bed in agony for, to form any coherent thoughts.

When the heat of pain became somewhat bearable, and the white in her sight faded, the first thought she had was about the time. She wanted to know what it was; whether it was morning or not. Gathering as much energy as she could, Hiccup turned her head, and blinked in shock. There was a window, but it was bigger than the one she was used to. And this one was smeared with blood. Where the Hel was she?

Hiccup tried to get up, but a sharp jab of pain in her abdomen made her stop. She looked down, and fingered the strips of gray and blue cloth wrapped around her stomach. There were splotches of dried blood on them, and Hiccup almost retched from the metallic stench.

"You up?"

Hiccup turned her head sharply to the right, and winced as she felt something pulling on one of her wounds.

"Yeah," she grimaced. "What time is it?"

Ruffnut smirked, and said, "Well, sleeping beauty, it's almost time for breakfast,"

Hiccup couldn't even find the energy in her to be worried or embarrassed about being late.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute," Hiccup tried to stand by herself, but it was just like when she lost her leg. She was fine the first step, but the next time she tried to move, she collapsed. Instead of Toothless, it was Ruffnut who saved her. Hiccup found herself craving the smooth warmth of her scaly best friend. It had been too long since she had woken up next to him.

"Yeah, and I'll be here to help you,"

So, with Ruff's help, Hiccup changed her bandages and put on new clothes. Hiccup spend a couple of minutes practicing her walk, making sure that it wasn't noticeable that she was hurt. She had to keep her mouth from scrunching, her eyebrows from bushing, her leg from being too stiff. It took a while, and she didn't look completely natural by any standard, but it would be enough for her to fool the Dunbroughs.

"Yup," Ruff nodded. "You're ready for breakfast,"

The long walk down the hallways and stairs was like a battle which Hiccup was determined to win by herself. She didn't even let Ruff help her when she stumbled, no matter how much easier the assistance would have made her journey.

By the time she got to the bottom of the stairs, Hiccup had a light sheen of sweat covering her, and she was gasping in pain. Ruff handed her a small cloth to wipe the sweat away. After she handed Ruff the cloth back, the taller blonde threw it with disgust at one of the sleeping guards. The triplets, who were watching, giggled and snuck away from the table to keep messing with the guard.

Hiccup sat down at the table, Ruff and Astrid on either side of her. Directly across the table were Tuff and Snot. Hiccup started shoveling the food in front of her into her mouth, barely giving herself time to say good morning to Eleanor, Maraud, and Fergus.

"My, lass!" Fergus laughed, "You're eating like a starved bear!"

Hiccup slowed her eating. Like a starved bear. That creature Hiccup had seen in the woods yesterday… that was a bear, right? And Fergus was the Bear King. He of all people ought to know exactly what that thing was.

"Fergus!" Eleanor scolded her husband.

"What?" he asked. Hiccup laughed a little, and assured,

"No, it's alright. I'm just a little hungrier than usual today," Hiccup thought quickly. How should she put this… "Hungry like a bear, you said?" Hiccup asked Fergus.

"Ha! Yes, lass. If you ever run across a hungry bear, run! Savages, those things,"

"So, if I went into the woods, how would I know if a bear was hungry?"

"Ha! Eleanor, our future daughter-in-law's a riot!" Fergus laughed, pointing to Hiccup. The girl smiled widely at King Fergus's open excitement. He was just so… unlike her own father. He wasn't named _Stoic_ for nothing.

"_If_ you happen to find yourself in the woods, and come across a hungry bear, you'll be able to see the hunger in its eyes," Maraud answered Hiccup. It was a good thing that Hiccup lost so much blood yesterday. At that moment, she didn't have quite enough extra blood to waste on blushing, but Hiccup was sure that if she was in full health, Maraud would have gotten an eyeful of her inflamed cheeks.

"It'll be like it's not even an animal anymore. It'll seem like a monster," Fergus whispered ominously before lightly slapping his son on the shoulder.

"Monster?" Hiccup said quietly. She could practically feel Astrid's eyes on her, telling her to stop. But, she was Hiccup. She had to. "I've heard of a monster in the woods," Hiccup said to Fergus. "Are they just talking about hungry bears?"

Fergus sobered, and he exchanged a glance with his son.

"No, lass. They're talking about Mordue,"

"Mor-who?" Tuff asked. Ruffut rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity and punched him on the side of the head.

"Mordue," Ruff said, like Tuff was an idiot. Which, he kind of was. He rubbed his head as he listened to his older sister. "You know, the bear-monster that they did the whole play thing about? The one about him losing his leg?"

"Oh!" Tuff finally seemed to remember.

"So, has anyone other than you seen Mordue?" Hiccup asked, anxious to get the conversation back to where she wanted it.

"Oh, hundreds of people!" Fergus said. Maraud added,

"He's been around for as long as the Highlands have,"

"How is Mordue not dead yet, then?"

"Well, no one really knows. He's not exactly a normal bear, lass. More like a possessed demon!"

"Do many people know about Mordue?"

With all of her questions, Hiccup was taken to a different time. Back when Gobber still felt like he had to look after her. Back when dragons were the enemies. Back when the world was small and simple and black and white. Hiccup remembered relentlessly throwing questions about night furies at Gobber, only for him to grow frustrated and yell at her to get back to her training. Even though that couldn't have happened more than half a year ago, it felt like such a longer time to Hiccup. More like a lifetime.

"Aye. We've even got a song about him. Next time we have a gathering of the clans, you'll hear it, alright, lass?"

"You sing here, too?"

All the Vikings seemed interested in this. Back on Berk, people sang all the time, especially when everyone gathered in the Mead Hall and just got drunk. And that happened quite a lot. There were about five hundred traditional Viking songs, and twenty new ones about Hiccup, the Dragon Conqueror, and the Red Death. Hiccup and every other Viking on Berk had all of those songs memorized. Songs, and the oral traditions were highly respected things to Vikings, and Hiccup was extremely pleased that Dunbrough had something similar.

"Aye, we have dozens of songs for celebrations! Me and Maraud'll teach 'em all to ye!" the easily excitable king said, bumping his son with his meaty elbow. Maraud rolled his eyes, but grinned kindly at Hiccup.

"Wow!" Hiccup said, her eyes bright and sparkling. "I never knew that Dunbrough had this much in common with Berk,"

"Speaking of things we've got in common- if you don't mind me asking- how'd you do it?" Fergus leaned forward, suddenly serious.

"Do what?" Hiccup asked, not exactly sure what they were talking about anymore.

"Yer leg, lass," Fergus elaborated.

Understanding lit behind Hiccup's eyes, and she pursed her lips, trying to figure out what to say exactly. She couldn't look at her father. That would make it seem like she was hiding something, and that would be suspicious. She _was_ hiding something… but they didn't need to know that.

"What's wrong with her leg?" Maraud asked, his forkful of eggs pausing on the way from his plate to his mouth.

_He hasn't noticed?_ Hiccup wondered. She bit her already abused lower lip to conceal the pain of what she was about to do. She lifted her left leg and let it plop onto the table, then mentally screamed in pain. Sometimes being raised a Viking who should hide all forms of fear and pain really paid off.

Hiccup left her leg there for a moment, like she was inviting everyone to stare. She could feel the pitying and curious looks from the servants around the room, but that was to be expected. They didn't know. Hiccup knew Queen Eleanor already knew. Hiccup had shown her back on Berk. So, why did she gasp so loudly, and cover her mouth with her hands?

Ruff shoved Hiccup's leg back onto the ground, and Astrid shoved some food into Hiccup's mouth before she could shriek in agony at the abrupt and unexpected movement. Instead, it just sounded like she was startled at the food in her mouth. Hiccup mentally thanked the girls, and slowly started chewing the food, trying her hardest not to wince or pass out.

"So, how'd you manage it, lass?"

"Well," Hiccup didn't have to pretend to be embarrassed. She was. Her leg had been a pretty popular topic of discussion on Berk. It wasn't like she was the only one who lost a limb, but she _had_ lost hers in the most spectacular way. And on Berk, that was a thing to be celebrated. Her lost leg alone had two verses dedicated to it in the Ballad of the Final Fire, which was only a six stanza song. "It's kind of a long story…"

"We've got time," Fergus insisted. So, Hiccup began spinning her tale, trying to stay as close to the truth, without revealing anything about dragons, as she thought she could manage. It ended up being a story about Berk warring against a fire-happy enemy island. They had apparently been attacking Berk for years, but Hiccup finally got fed up with it and stopped the raids by diminishing their explosives supplies. She lost her leg when, in an act of desperation, the leader of the enemy island- Bertha- had set the Hofferson house on fire. Hiccup had run into the burning building, and had saved Astrid, but she got trapped inside, with a burning log on top of her leg. Her loyal animal companion (Hiccup couldn't bear to call him a pet, even in a mostly fictitious tale) had run over and saved her, but her leg had been beyond salvaging.

No one said a word throughout Hiccup's story. It was amazing when a Viking told a story, and even though her fellow Berkians had grown up with the elder telling them stories, much in the same way Hiccup just did, they were mesmerized by the way Hiccup's voice became the story, and the way that her eyes reflected exactly what she was imagining. It was like everyone was transported to a different place while Hiccup was story telling.

Hiccup cleared her throat so that everyone would stop staring at her. She had finished her story about five minutes ago, but everyone was still looking at her.

"So, that's my story. And we all know how you lost your leg, Fergus,"

"My, what a brave lass you are," Fergus whispered, admiration in his eyes.

"Yes. And a brave lass needs to eat," Eleanor said, looking pointedly at the rest of the food on Hiccup's plate.

The meal lasted about ten more minutes. For those long 600 seconds, Maraud was silent, and Fergus spoke nonstop.

While it was strange that Maraud wasn't speaking, Hiccup was more focused on her future father-in-law. He, from wheat she had seen so far, was the only one with a missing leg. Hiccup didn't know if she could have made it through those first couple of months of monoleg-itis if she was the only one who knew how it felt. Back on Berk, practically everyone had at least one of their limbs missing. Working with Gobber, who was missing two, was like a dream.

Hiccup spoke with Fergus about the pains, the occasional shock, the way people tended to treat her like a fragile doll rather than who she was. Fergus never had anyone who understood his feelings so completely. He had tried to explain to Eleanor, and while she had been sympathetic, she hadn't realized that he didn't want her sympathy. Fergus got frustrated at the look of fear or discomfort whenever his leg came up in a conversation with his people. But Hiccup... she understood.

So, Fergus used her experience to his advantage, and kept talking about how he felt. He complained so much that he felt like he was imitating Maraud before he had to meet a new princess. Except, Fergus didn't exactly care about how he sounded. He had lived with the constant irritation for fourteen years, and Hiccup was the only one who understood what he was talking about. She, too, looked to her friends and family with irritation on her face when she spoke of people treating her like a half-formed axe. Fergus wasn't sure where her metaphor came from, but he understood what she was trying to say.

The king examined his future daughter-in-law. She had already proved to be different than other princesses. For one, she was missing a leg. For another, she didn't care; she seemed almost proud of her missing limb. Also, she had apparently spent an entire afternoon with Maraud. And she was still there. Fergus smiled at Hiccup. With her in the family, he had a feeling life was about to become a whole lot more interesting.

As Maudy and the other servants arrived to take the plates away, Hiccup slowly stood up and went to go to her room. She could honestly think of only one thing that she wanted more than sleep. And it wasn't like she could bring Toothless into the castle. So, she would have to be content with her bed and blanket.

Hiccup eased her way up the stairs. She was about to turn left, towards her room, when four arms came out of a room to the side and pulled her into it. Hiccup lost her eyesight to the flash of white from the pain she was feeling. She bit her lip until it bled, waiting for the nauseating wave of unease to pass.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup groaned. Of course. Who else would notice her endless questions?

"Tuffnut?"

"Don't forget me, Squirt," Snotlout announced his presence. Hiccup should have known. Those days, it was hard to see Tuff without Snot.

"What do you guys want?" Hiccup managed to ask, still holding onto her stomach, which felt like it was on fire.

"We want to know what's up," Snot said.

"Don't say 'it's nothing' because we know you, Hic," Tuffnut said before Hiccup had a chance to say exactly what he had predicted. "So… what's up with Mordue?"

"But before that, what's up with you?"

"They're," Hiccup winced in pain as she removed her arm from her abdomen. "Kind of the same thing,"

Hiccup spent almost twenty minutes explaining to her two moronic brothers from other mothers what happened to her last night, and how Mordue tied into it all.

"Mordue's a monster," Hiccup finished, "But more than that, he's an occupational hazard,"

"Yeah, right," Tuff snorted. "Like we'll believe that,"

"We're going to need proof," Snot agreed.

Hiccup sighed. She really just wanted to sleep. She was already swaying on her feet. "Fine," she relented. "I'll see what I can do,"

* * *

That night, Hiccup struggled to sneak away another basket of fish. She had heard some of the cooks wondering where all of their seafood was going earlier, and she had to suppress her guilt. There she was, in Eleanor's castle, the queen who had been so nice to her, and Hiccup was stealing from right under her nose. But, Hiccup had to. Honestly, nothing was more important to her than Toothless. She would steal an entire ocean-ful of fish for Toothless.

Hiccup couldn't heave it onto her back, so she had to drag, push, and occasionally kick it forward. It was a long process, by the end of which Hiccup was sweating, and in extreme pain.

"Toothless," she breathed, head spinning. She saw a dark shadow dart towards her, and Hiccup forced her eyes open.

He nuzzled her softly in the stomach, and she groaned lightly. Toothless crooned, and then growled towards the woods.

"I don't think you should kill _all _the bears, bud," Hiccup chuckled tiredly. Her arm shook as she opened the sack next to her. "Here. I got you some fish. I bet you're hungry, huh?"

Toothless ignored the fish altogether and continued nuzzling Hiccup's abdomen, groaning sadly as the stench of blood entered his sensitive nostrils. Hiccup sighed and turned around, resting, with her back supported by Toothless's strong body. She mumbled,

"I don't think I can handle a flight today, sweetie,"

Toothless snorted, and Hiccup savored the heat seeping into her body. She had been missing the almost uncomfortable warmth that came with Toothless. Especially because most nights in the drafty stone castle turned Hiccup's fingers and toes to ice.

"Yeah, I guess that _was _pretty obvious, huh?"

Toothless warbled, and the two best friends settled into an easy silence. Hiccup liked being in the middle of the circle of large rocks. There was something ancient and… unspeakably powerful about them. They reminded her of Toothless a little bit. Cold from a distance, but once she got inside of them, they were warm and protective. Speaking of protective, Hiccup needed to tell Toothless about her two brothers and how they wanted to see Mordue for themselves.

"Astrid and Ruff patched me up yesterday," Hiccup wheezed. Toothless hummed, and the vibrations on her back soothed the tension that had slowly been building. Hiccup relaxed for a second, but then continued. "And then Snot and Tuff got it out of me," Toothless shifted a little, but Hiccup needed to finish before she had to go back. "They want to see Mordue themselves,"

Toothless snorted, and Hiccup grinned, eyes drooping.

"They are _not_. Well, maybe a little. But, I wanted to ask, if I make a saddle with three seats, for me, Tuff, and Snot, would you fly us to Mordue? Just so they see him? They could help us take it down,"

Toothless sat in silence for a second before turning his head to look into Hiccup's eyes. She widened them and smiled innocently. Toothless let out a breath and let out a complaining roar. Hiccup laughed a little.

"I know, I'm lucky that you love me!" Hiccup looked up at the sky. It was dark. Normally, she would have been fine going back in the darkness, but with her injury, and with her meeting with Mordue… she was a little afraid.

As if sensing her thoughts, Toothless pulled her closer to him and wrapped his wings around her. Before she drifted off to sleep in the familiarity of his embrace, she felt Toothless's soft forked tongue on her bandages.

"Really? You think it'll help?" she asked him, barely hanging onto consciousness. She slowly unbandaged the wrappings around her midsection and tried her hardest not to laugh as Toothless licked it clean. He warbled at her and she reapplied the cloth onto her wounds. Less than a second later, she was out cold. Needless to say, she had the best sleep she had had in weeks.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup woke up earlier than usual thanks to Toothless. He walked her to the edge of the forest and they parted ways there. By the time Hiccup was back at the castle, it was almost time for the queen to wake up. Hiccup snuck to her room and got ready for the day. After a hasty breakfast with her and Eleanor's family, Hiccup bee-lined her way to McFeely's smithy.

For the rest of the day, she worked on a three-seater saddle. She had gotten very proficient at designing and producing saddles in the past few months. If she was feeling better, she could have executed her design in a couple of hours, but as it was, making the saddle took her until right before dinner.

Still, she was proud of her work. It was basically just her old saddle, which she had taken off of Toothless that morning, with two seats attached to the back. She could take the extra seats off, too, so the design was disposable. She would have made Tuff and Snot harnesses, but the smithy only had so much metal and leather, and Hiccup didn't want to waste anything. Tuff and Snot would just have to hold on tight.

* * *

Hiccup and her two unofficial official brothers finished their dinner in a hurry. Tuff and Snot were eager to ride Toothless- the fastest dragon _ever_\- and Hiccup wanted to get Tuff and Snot to understand their situation before she told Fishlegs, her father, and the king and queen. And then, of course, there was Maraud and the rest of the people of Dunbrough to think about. What about those poor people outside of the walls? Who was going to protect them?

Hiccup mentally shook her head. She had to focus on one thing at a time. Snot and Tuff.

"I'm feeling quite tired," Hiccup said to Eleanor. "I think I'll just go up to bed now,"

"Alright, Dear. I hope you feel better tomorrow,"

The genuine care that Hiccup could see in Eleanor's brown eyes floored her, and she could feel the twisting spines of guilt start to curl in her stomach, paining her more than the lacerations from the demon bear. Before she could think again, Hiccup stood up and left to her room. Less than ten minutes later, the two boys were in her room, and all three of them were leaving the castle. Before they left, they had two errands to run. First to the kitchen, where she had Snot and Tuff hold fifty pounds of fish for Toothless, and second to the smithy to get the saddle. Then the boys followed Hiccup as she crept with practiced silence to the forest on the already worn path.

Hiccup tried to go slowly through the forest, so that the two large boys behind her could get a feel for the forest. It wouldn't help her any to have two unconscious Viking boys to drag through the wood while she was still injured.

"Ready to… fly with us?" Hiccup winced as they all stepped into the circle of rocks. Her brothers nodded eagerly as they set down the fish, and Hiccup called out, "They're ready, sweetie!"

Toothless materialized out of literally nowhere, and Snot and Tuff jumped in shock. Hiccup only jumped to hug him. Hiccup hooked on the first attachment for Tuff, and then the second one for Snot. She quickly explained how to ride Toothless, and then she moved towards Toothless's back. Tuff and Snot let Hiccup on first, and then mounted Toothless. Toothless spread his powerful wings, and Hiccup patted the side of his neck.

"You can do it, sweetie,"

And then the four of them were off with a powerful downward stroke of his wings. They took off as quickly as Toothless normally did, but it seemed like he was a little too abrupt for his two first-time passengers. Snot yelled in surprise and Tuff leaned forward to grab onto Hiccup tighter. While she didn't openly declare her discomfort, Toothless growled at the nearly imperceptible tensing of her leg muscles. He continued to fly, and the boys eventually relaxed. All of them were silent for most of the ride, only focusing on their task: finding a giant, monstrous, demon-bear.

* * *

As the moon shone bright high in the sky, Snotlout muffled a yawn and started to say, "Hiccup, are you sure-" when Tuffnut silenced him.

"Shh! Look!"

The other teens looked towards where Tuff was pointing, and the older one gasped. Hiccup just pursed her lips.

"Hiccup," Snot whispered. "Tell me that's not it,"

"I have become a pretty good liar, haven't I?"

"Yeah. We've got us a problem here," Tuffnut stated the obvious. Snotlout nodded, and Hiccup swallowed thickly. She had actually thought that she could have had a normal life on Dunbrough. What had she been thinking? Of course she couldn't. Pain loved to follow her. Always in the form of something large and grotesque. Always in the form of something ugly and slightly mutated. Always in the form of a monster. An occupational hazard.

Vikings got rid of occupational hazards, no matter how dangerous. As untraditional as she was, Hiccup was a Viking. She would get rid of Mordue. For the triplets. For Eleanor. For Toothless.


	14. Misunderstandings

**Chapter 14**

The next morning at breakfast, Hiccup noticed the absence of a large, comforting figure.

"Where's my father?" she asked the queen. Eleanor looked up from her soup in surprise before daintily setting down her spoon.

"He… didn't tell you?" Hiccup shook her head and Eleanor smiled sadly before revealing. "Dear, he left last night,"

Hiccup sat there, stunned into silence. He… left? Last night? He didn't even say goodbye. She, his only daughter, was getting married, and he got up and left in the middle of the night. He didn't even tell her he was planning to go! Why? Hiccup grew nervous. And the only things which calmed her down when she was nervous were:

1) Flying with Toothless

or

2) Going on a walk

And since going on a flight in broad daylight was out of the question at that moment, Hiccup did the only thing she could.

"Excuse me."

Hiccup got up and started exploring the castle. Her steps were a little timid since everything was made of stone and her prosthetic still slipped pretty easily on surfaces like that. But more than that, she was anxious, and her gait reflected that.

For almost twenty minutes Hiccup ventured around the cold castle, trying to stay out of everyone's way. She only wanted to see the people who made her comfortable. Those were her friends, and the triplets. Yes, Hiccup loved being around Eleanor, but in the castle, Eleanor and Fergus came as a package deal, and Hiccup wasn't quite as used to Fergus as she was to his wife.

While going through the rooms, trying to catalog what was where, Hiccup stumbled upon the most expensive-looking doors in the castle. She carefully opened the colored and decorated doors and stepped inside. The interior of the room was just as lavish as the carved entrance. There were tapestries all over the walls, and rugs on the floor. The bed was large, and the windows larger.

Hiccup would have stayed to inspect for longer, but then she noticed who was in the room. The king and the queen.

Trying to be as quiet as she possibly could, Hiccup turned to leave, but her iron leg squeaked. Hiccup stilled, and hoped that neither of the royals heard her. But, she was Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the Third. Good luck avoided her like the plague. Eleanor turned and smiled,

"Oh, Hiccup! We were just talking about you, lass!"

Hiccup reminded herself to grease her prosthetic later as she turned to her future in laws. She smiled back and apologized,

"I'm sorry. I didn't know this was your room. I'll just leave now," Hiccup turned to leave, but Fergus laughed and Eleanor invited her in. Hiccup laughed uncomfortably and stepped forward.

"No need to feel out of place, Lass," Fergus insisted, and Eleanor said,

"Yes, we all love having you here," Hiccup looked at the ground, trying to think of a way to get out of the room, but Eleanor must have thought it meant something different. "Oh!" Eleanor huffed. "It's that son of mine, isn't it?"

Hiccup's head snapped up. Just the thought of Maraud made her heart beat just a little faster, and Hiccup wasn't entirely sure why.

"Don't judge him too harshly," Fergus advised, placing his hands tenderly on his wife's shoulders. "He really does mean well,"

"He's just a little… spirited,"

Hiccup almost snorted. Spirited was an understatement.

"Really, Lass, he is nice on the inside," Fergus nodded, and Eleanor smiled thinly.

"I know you won't love him right away…" Eleanor sighed, and Hiccup wished that the older woman wouldn't put so much stress on herself. "But if you could, please give him a chance?"

Hiccup nodded. Of course she would give Maraud a chance. She didn't come to Dunbrough and agree to marry him just to get cold feet at the last second. Hiccup was nothing if not determined. And right then, she was determined to get out of that room.

It wasn't that Hiccup didn't like the royals in front of her. In fact, the more she spent time with them, the more she liked who she was seeing. No, it wasn't that she wanted to get away from them at all. Hiccup just wanted to run to the woods and be with Toothless. She just knew that she couldn't.

Ever since she made the initial bond with him, Hiccup never liked being away from Toothless for too long, and sleeping without him was the hardest challenge she had faced since coming to Dunbrough. Hiccup needed some support, someone to tell her that she was fine, and that it was going to get easier.

"I certainly will try with Maraud, I promise. But right now, I think I want to go see my friends. Will you please excuse me?"

After walking on eggshells on Berk for most of her life, Hiccup had politeness down to an science. Especially around her father. All Hiccup had to do was imagine that Fergus was Stoic, and she respectful requests flowed out of her mouth like honey.

A few seconds after leaving the king and queen's room, Hiccup set about on her mission to find Astrid and Ruffnut. They would understand her, and comfort her the best.

"Hiccup," Astrid greeted, and Ruff turned to face the shorter Viking.

"Hey, guys," Hiccup's legs ached from walking so cautiously around the giant castle. Ruffnut misunderstood Hiccup's grimace.

"Does your stomach still hurt?" Ruff asked quietly. Surprised, Hiccup blinked before shaking her head.

"No, actually. Toothless licked them a couple of nights ago-"

"Ugh!" Ruff exclaimed, but Hiccup ignored her.

"-and they're almost completely healed now. It's awesome,"

"That's great, Hiccup," Astrid said, but she was still frowning. "So then, what's wrong?"

* * *

Maraud was just walking through the hallways, on his way to the kitchen, when he heard her voice. Yes, _her_ voice. His fiancée's voice. She was charming, and more adventurous than princesses usually were… and there was no denying how unbelievably beautiful she was. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do, but he just wanted to know what she talked about with her Viking girl friends.

"I just- I don't think I can live without having him near me for so long. It's just so hard!"

Maraud blinked slowly. She was missing someone. A male someone. Her father? He had left suddenly last night. Yeah, she was probably just missing her father. Just to make sure, Maraud listened a little longer.

"It's almost impossible for me to sleep without him next to me. I get so cold, and lonely…"

Maraud's mind couldn't listen to anything else she said. She was _not_ talking about her father. Sleeping next to him? And when she said sleep, did she mean sleep, or _sleep_? Was Hiccup… had she been engaged to someone before she had agreed to the marriage between the two of them? Was this someone she was talking about her ex-fiancee? Well, certainly Hiccup thought fondly of this someone. Maraud had never thought about this marriage from Hiccup's point of view. She had someone who she loved back on Berk. She was missing him.

Maraud never wanted to get married. He always had his list of excuses ready, and always thought of how unfair it was that his parents were forcing him to spend the rest of his life with some strange princess. But, he had never thought that the princess would have any reservations or problems with the marriage as well.

"And then the whole problem with the big bear… and just after the Red Death? Oh, the gods hate me!"

Maraud was completely clueless as to what the Red Death was, but he knew for a fact which 'big bear' Hiccup was talking about.

Maraud heard Hiccup start to speak again, but he stalked away before he heard her talking about that lover of hers again. For some reason, the idea of Hiccup with anyone else made Maraud angry, and he wasn't entirely sure why. Maraud felt his face start to flame with anger, and he knew that he had to get to Angus and ride out the rage before his mum caught him, otherwise he would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

From around the corner, Hilda, Helen, and Hilary watched their brother's reactions with Hiccup's words. They had heard every word that Hiccup had said, from the very beginning. They knew she was talking about an animal, her pet, but their brother didn't. And he was angry. They giggled as he stormed away, red-faced. They knew he liked her!

**The story is going to get pretty intense in the very near future, and updates will start becoming slower because of school and laziness. Sry! Anyways, I'm pretty excited! Almost sixty reviews! I'm hoping for seventy before chapter 18. As always, thanks for the support by readers favoriting, following, and reviewing! Till next time :)**


	15. Fishlegs and Friendship

**Chapter 15**

Fishlegs had tried really hard not to read too much into Hiccup's weird behavior, but her assault of questions at the breakfast table that morning was the last straw. The last time Hiccup had been so curious about something so insanely dangerous, while being almost unhealthily solitary, had been when she had first met Toothless.

So… what was bothering her this time, in Dunbrough?

Determined to get answers, Fishlegs started sweeping the castle, looking for any of his friends. Astrid or Hiccup would have been an ideal find, because they would actually tell him what was going on, but Fishlegs was so desperate that he would even settle for Ruffnut or Tuffnut. Maybe even Ruffnut _and_ Tuffnut.

He didn't find Hiccup, but all of his other friends were in a suspicious looking huddle, trying to keep their voices down, while looking over their shoulders every couple of seconds. Fishlegs would have snorted if he wasn't so frustrated.

"Hey guys!" he greeted and walked into their exclusive circle. Fishlegs looked to the sides before lowering his voice and asking, "Have any of you noticed how weird Hiccup's been acting recently?" All his friends looked at him, and Fishlegs felt the need to elaborate, "I mean, she's always alone, and just this morning, with all those questions about Mordue? I just think something's up,"

"Yeah, she's getting married," Ruffnut rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which, her fiancée, Maraud, you met him, Fishlegs? No? I'll introduce you," Snotlout started leading him away, and Fishlegs barely managed to hear Tuffnut say,

"Whew! That was close,"

Fishlegs pulled away from Snotlout before the burly boy could drag him wherever he was planning on taking him. Fishlegs felt hurt. Out of all of her friends, Fishlegs was the only one Hiccup didn't tell about whatever problem she was having.

Fishlegs stalked to the main dining room and plotted in his head. If she wasn't going to share with him, then he wasn't going to share with her. He would ignore her until she _begged _him to talk to her.

So, for about ten minutes, Fishlegs ignored Hiccup. Too bad she didn't notice since she wasn't even in the same room as him. His ignoring Hiccup only lasted that long because when Hiccup showed up in the doorway to the kitchen and motioned frantically for him to follow her, Fishlegs didn't even hesitate before getting up and going after her. He had always been an uncannily forgiving Viking.

"What's up, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked in a low voice once they were alone in the large kitchen. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through her tied hair before turning to Fishlegs and saying,

"I'm under a whole lot of stress, you know? With the marriage, and keeping Toothless a secret, and now the giant demon bear... thing, but with my dad leaving, and him not even saying goodbye, I'm just-"

Fishlegs could tell that Hiccup was starting to get anxious, so he interjected with a firm,

"Hiccup," before continuing in a softer tone, "You know why your dad left last night, don't you?"

Hiccup scrunched her eyebrows together and asked instead,

"And you do?"

Fishlegs nodded his head.

"Yeah, I was there. Think about this, Hiccup. Berk can barely survive without burning itself to the ground _with_ you and the chief there. Up until yesterday, both of you had been gone for almost a month. Gobber was getting worried, and so was Horke, so they both came over here. _On their dragons. _They wanted the chief back.

"It wasn't like your dad could say 'Oh, I'll come in the morning.' You know Gobber and Horke's dragons. They're no Night Furies. If your dad had left in the morning, the Scots would have been seen them flying away, and a whole lot of trouble would have started. Your dad left on the ship, just to make sure no one would get suspicious, but he did _want _to say goodbye. Hel, he really wanted to stay until the wedding. But, Gobber and Horke are like, some of the Vikingiest Viking on Berk. They weren't going to leave without Stoic,"

"So that's why he left," Hiccup mumbled to herself. Before she completely lost herself in her thoughts, Hiccup shook her head to clear her mind. "But, I have another problem,"

So, Fishlegs listened as Hiccup quickly explained the situation with Mordue in the woods.

"Normally I wouldn't care," Hiccup admitted, "But Toothless is out there all alone, and he can't even use his fire, or he'd get spotted. I just want to keep him safe. That's why we need to kill Mordue. But, what do I do?"

Fishlegs thought for a second before saying,

"I think that you should tell the king and queen. If anyone can help, it'll be them. You don't need to even mention Toothless,"

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded her head, as if warming up to the idea, "I could just say that I'm concerned about…"

"Public safety?" Fishlegs offered.

"Public safety!" Hiccup beamed. "You're the best, Fish, thanks!"

Hiccup leaned forward and gave Fishlegs a hug before carefully making her way to the king and queen.

Fishlegs watched her go and felt happiness swell in his chest. He didn't even _have_ to ignore Hiccup, or ask her what she was hiding. She just told him out of her own free will. Because she trusted him. Because they were friends. A couple of months ago, back when dragon raids were still an issue, Fishlegs had tried to make friends, and he had made a few, but only because of his size and strength. People usually thought that he was too friendly and peace-loving. But, with Hiccup's philosophy on life in place back at Berk, he had finally been able to have _real_ friends. The first of whom was Hiccup. Fishlegs just wanted her to be happy, and he would certainly do whatever necessary for that to happen. If that meant he had to help keep Toothless safe, there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep that scaly Night Fury out of trouble. If he had to kill Maraud Dunbrough, so be it. As long as his first real friend was happy and safe, Fishlegs would do anything.

**In case any of you are upset about 'you said things would get interesting in chapter 15!' type stuff, I said AROUND chapter 15. Fishlegs is kind of an ignored character, because he's kind of dorky and a loner, and I just wanted to bring him into this, because this story is really a lot about the relationships Hiccup has with people and, of course, Toothless! Next chapter, some stuff will happen that involves an angry Toothless, and a sad girl he loves, plus a certain free-spirited red head. But most of that kind of action happens in chapter 17. You're just going to have to wait, but this story will get better, I promise! Favorites make me happy, follows give me confidence, and reviews are just fun to read :)**


	16. Useless Whore

**Chapter 16**

Hiccup walked aimlessly through the castle as she thought. Toothless already knew about Mordue rampaging in the woods; he had seen the demon bear first hand, as had Snotlout and Tuffnut. Astrid and Ruff had only heard about the monster, but they had seen proof of how dangerous it could be when they patched her up the night Toothless and Hiccup had come across it. Hiccup had told Fishlegs, and he had advised her to tell the king and the queen, so she had. Now, everyone but Maraud knew about the danger lurking in the Dunbrough forest. And it was up to Hiccup to inform him.

And, after she did that, she would have to explain that she had a 'pet' living in the woods, and was worried for his safety. Then she would have to warily introduce Toothless to the entire royal family. Then she would have to wait and hope that everyone got along, while praying that no one killed Toothless and lock Hiccup up for the rest of her life.

Easy.

The hardest part of actually executing her completely non-foolproof plan was anything that involved Maraud. Even as she was roaming the cold halls of the Dunbrough castle, Hiccup was avoiding talking to him. For some reason which Hiccup couldn't explain, every time she stepped close to the handsome Scot, her stomach twisted and knotted. And it wasn't the good feeling she got rolling through the skies next to Toothless, it was more the painful, nervous kind, almost worse than when she was trying to show her tribe that dragons weren't monsters, a lifetime ago in the Nightmare's cage.

The Nightmare's cage… directly after _that_ failure, Hiccup had to make herself strong. She rounded up the other teens- who thought she was a complete loser, by the way- and convince them to fly on dragons, their then natural enemies. They all flew to the Nest where Hiccup had almost drowned trying to save Toothless, and then she had almost been burnt to a crisp while trying to kill a dragon to save a couple hundred people who didn't even _like_ her. At least she had passed her final exam.

Remembering all of the hardships she had to go through that day and the weeks after, Hiccup couldn't help but to think that she was being stupid- feeling afraid to talk to a Scot just because he was tall, with broad shoulders, and strong arms, with a deep voice and a killer accent that made her insides melt…

Hiccup gathered her nerve, steeled her resolve, and started moving with purpose. She was on a mission: Find Maraud Dunbrough, and get him to help her integrate Toothless into the Scottish lifestyle. At least he would eat the Haggis. Well, probably.

She had only been walking for about five minutes before she spotted him grabbing an apple in the kitchen. Hiccup took a deep breath and started walking forward.

"Maraud!" she greeted, and the tall teen jumped before swirling around. Hiccup blinked and stepped back before Maraud could try to stab her with a sword again. Sure, she had greased her prosthetic, but she didn't think she was _that_ silent.

"Oh," Maraud breathed. "Hiccup," Hiccup wondered why she never felt this way when anyone else in her village said her name. They all had strong accents, too. So why could only Maraud do this to her? "Hi," he finished lamely. He eyed the apple in his hand before setting it down. "Was there anything you needed?"

Hiccup bit her lip and decided that the best way to get this out of her system was to just start, and not stop until she was finished.

"There's some things I think you should know,"

Maraud ran one of his hands through his long hair, and Hiccup couldn't help but think that he looked distressed. There she goes, getting distracted as only Hiccup could. So much for not stopping until she was finished.

"Yeah, I think we should talk about those things… but we should probably do it someplace more private, don't you think?"

"Um… yes! That would actually be perfect," Hiccup mentally slapped herself for thinking she could have this kind of a conversation in the middle of the echo-prone castle, full of curious and nosy servants. "Where should we go?"

"The forest is always quiet," Maraud informed before picking his apple back up, throwing it up and catching it again with one of his large, calloused hands. "And I doubt anyone would disturb us,"

Hiccup nodded silently as she followed Maraud out to the stables, wondering why he was chewing on his apple so harshly. Before he started tacking Angus with the riding gear, Maraud roughly threw his apple to the side, hitting one of his maids- Maudy- in the head with it.

The poor woman was so shocked by the action that Hiccup watched as the triplets easily took about thirty pastries from right under her nose before the servant had enough mind to try to take the sweets away. But by that time, the three little girls were already on their merry way, shirts filled to the brim with whatever pastries those round things were.

"Well?" Maraud asked angrily. "Are you getting on or not?"

Hiccup took his outstretched hand, and as she rode silently with him to the forest, feeling Angus's rough gait underneath her, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if Maraud was in a bad mood, and if maybe she should wait until he was in a better mood to explain her story to him. But, as they kept riding through the uninhabited forest, she thought that they had already come all this way. It would be a waste if she didn't tell him, and honestly, even if he as in a bad mood, what was the worst that could happen?

Maraud skillfully led Angus through a series of twists and turns, but eventually they all stopped at the familiar setting of the circle of rocks. Looking at the large stones jutting up from the ground, Hiccup felt a surge of happiness. She knew, without a doubt, that Toothless would be somewhere near there, watching her. The thought brought a smile to her face as she slid off of Angus.

Hiccup waited until Maraud had loosely tied Angus to a nearby tree before taking a deep breath and saying again,

"There really are some things which I _need_ to tell you. These things are kind of important, and one of them is-"

"I know what you're about to say," Maraud grumbled, interrupting her. "I heard you speaking with your Viking girlfriends,"

"You know?" Hiccup was delighted! This would save her so much time! And if he hadn't told anybody to go search the woods and kill Toothless, or to send her to the dungeon, then he understood, right? He was on her side! He accepted Toothless, and would help her get him situated! Then he would help her kill Mordue so that Toothless wouldn't have to stay cooped up in the castle all the time. He really did prefer to be outdoors, free, rather than be confined to a specific place.

"This is great!" Hiccup continued, moving slightly closer to Maraud, who was avoiding eye contact with her. Suddenly, doubts filled her mind. She already knew that he was keeping Toothless safe. Just by not telling anyone about Toothless, Maraud had been keeping her dragon safe. But what if he wanted to tell her that he couldn't do it? That he couldn't or wouldn't help her kill Mordue? "So, you already know everything. Are you going to help?"

"Help with what?"

Yeah. Hiccup hadn't exactly been very specific.

"Are you going to… help us kill him?"

"Kill who? The man you were sleeping with?" Maraud exploded. "I think not! I'm not a murderer!" Hiccup wasn't sure what Maraud was talking about, but she kept listening as Maraud started moving away from her, and tried to calm her racing heart. He had just suddenly exploded, and Hiccup hadn't expected it at all.

"I thought… you liked doing this type of thing?" Hiccup said timidly. Why else would he have gotten so good with his bows and arrows if not for hunting? She hadn't exactly seen his 'legendary skills' personally, but Hiccup had heard plenty of talk. Maraud was the best. Shouldn't he like hunting? "Isn't that why you train with your weapons so much?" Hiccup questioned.

"I'm not shameless like you!" Maraud continued yelling at her, and Hiccup was almost positive that he hadn't heard a single word that she had just said. She mentally sighed and waited for him to blow some of his steam off. He probably had just had a rough day. "How many have you done it with? 2? 4? 10? Whore! I can't believe I have to marry a dirty, filthy, _useless_ thing like you!"

Not a thought filled Hiccup's mind before she started to cry. Useless. It used to be a common name for her, back during the Dragon War. As soon as she had killed the Red Death, the nickname had been eradicated, and Hiccup thought that she could put the word behind her, a painful name of the past. But no. It had to be brought back, and by none other than her future husband.

Almost exactly when Hiccup began to cry, a low rumble filled the clearing Maraud was in. Trying his best to ignore the useless girl in front of him, Maraud looked to the sky, wondering where the storm was. There were no dark clouds, but Maraud could swear that he was hearing thunder.

If Hiccup had even been remotely paying attention, she would have known that there was no storm coming. Only an angry dragon. But she wasn't listening. She just kept crying. And the growling only got louder.

Most of Hiccup's mind was clouded by a sense of despair, but in the back of her head, she couldn't help but to wonder: how could he have said all of that to her? She almost couldn't believe it. His parents had assured Hiccup that he was nice, and a kind young man. The king and queen themselves were great people, and truly made Hiccup feel comfortable, and the triplets, while a handful, were adorable and sweet little girls.

So, why? If he honestly didn't want to help her kill Mordue, why didn't Maraud just tell her so? Did he have to say all of those humiliating, disgusting, hurtful things to her? Hiccup had never exactly been treated like a princess, so she hadn't come to Dunbrough expecting any special treatment, but she certainly hoped that she would get more respect than that. Hiccup continued to emotionally curl in on herself, only having enough sense to wish for one thing: Toothless.

* * *

Toothless, like Hiccup had known, was indeed watching the entire ordeal. He had seen the two humans ride up on their weird dumb animal and quenched the burning jealousy he felt in his stomach at the sight of Hiccup riding that _thing_ again. But, when the small Stoic had started yelling at Hiccup, _his_ Hiccup, Toothless had let out a warning rumble. Then, Hiccup had started crying, and Toothless escalated to full-on growling. Still, the boy did nothing to soothe Hiccup. Instead, he looked up at the sky of all things!

Tired of the red headed human's idiocy, Toothless stalked behind the human and pounced on him, not letting the human catch so much as a glimpse of him.

The human started struggling, and something sharp started poking into the bottom of his Toothless's paws. Toothless ignored it. He began bouncing lightly on the puny human's back, and the boy let out a couple of pained grunts. Toothless paused his antics for a second and looked up from watching the boy squirm in pain and discomfort in order to see Hiccup's reaction to his behavior.

To Toothless's great concern, Hiccup hadn't even noticed what he was doing. She was still crying. Why did the stupid human underneath Toothless have the ability to impact Hiccup this much? Toothless leaned closer to the human's head and started hissing threateningly. Toothless looked up again expectantly, but Hiccup still didn't tell him to be careful, or to leave the boy alone. Toothless sat a little more heavily on the boy and tilted his head to the side before crooning sadly at his human.

"Hiccup!" the boy under Toothless yelled. "Don't just sit there blubbering! Get out of here! Oomph!" Toothless bounced a little harder than before, trying to get the red head to stop yelling at Hiccup. Unfortunately, the boy was just as stubborn as most Vikings were. "Take Angus!" Toothless growled lowly at the thought of Hiccup riding that thing _again_, "He'll get you out of here!"

But Hiccup wasn't listening, and Toothless was worried.

A high pitched squeal of terror jerked Hiccup out of her moments of weakness. She looked around frantically through her aching eyes for the source of the blood-chilling noise. It turned out to be Angus. He was pulling frantically at his reins, his eyes were wide, and he was rearing up on his hind legs every couple of seconds.

Temporarily forgetting about whatever could be causing Angus's panic, Hiccup started to slowly walk towards the normally gentle animal, ignoring whatever Maraud was yelling at her. She was not letting his words get to her again. She had to be strong now.

Hiccup slowly extended her hand and looked away. She wasn't too knowledgeable about horses. She only hoped that they worked like dragons. Fortunately, for whatever, Hiccup's openness and trust calmed Angus down enough for him to stop rearing up.

After she felt his velvety nose in her palm, Hiccup looked into the horses dark eyes and narrowed her own. What had him so spooked? Hiccup looked closer into Angus's mirror-like eyes and gasped. In the horse's eyes was a reflection… of Toothless! Hiccup whirled around and gaped at the scene in front of her.

Toothless was there, alright. And so was Maraud. Except, Toothless was sitting on the red head. There were not many ways the situation at hand could end up, and most of those possible outcomes were not good.

Angus, who had gotten spooked again by Hiccup's abrupt movements, had started panicking again, and barely missed hitting Hiccup in his frantic attempt to run away from the potentially dangerous situation. He finally pulled hard enough to snap his reins and took off. But Maraud barely paid that any attention.

He was only focused on the girl with her eyes opened almost painfully wide, and a mouth hanging so far down that flies would have to go out of their way _not_ to fly in. He had hoped that she would have ridden off with Angus. As much as he didn't like her right then, there was absolutely no way that Maraud wanted her to die. She was a nice person. A beautiful girl who loved someone on a distant island. She deserved to live.

Maraud was actually worried that he was still alive. More like he was worried _why_ he was still alive. The thing on top of him was unbelievably heavy. Maraud's head couldn't help but wonder if it was going to make his death long and painful. His imagination went to dark places, and images of his body being eaten alive, or ripped apart limb from limb crossed his mind in vivid flashes.

Maraud almost started crying. He wasn't ready for dying! Hell, he was barely ready for marriage! He still had such a long life ahead of him!

"Toothless, what are you doing?" Hiccup said, oddly calm. In fact, she was more _curious_ than terrified_. _Maraud wondered between his frantic breaths why she wasn't running away screaming. Hiccup sure was a strange one. "Get off him!" Hiccup commanded, and Maraud hoped against hope that the creature on him would listen. Hiccup wasn't looking at Maraud, but above him, and Maraud imagined her staring the beast straight in the eye. Brave Viking.

The thing on top of him shuddered a little, and Maraud felt his spine twist and pop in places it wasn't supposed to twist _or_ pop. The animal snorted, Maraud gulped, and Hiccup sighed.

"I know I was crying," she admitted, "But I'm going to marry him,"

The animal on Maraud froze, and Maraud could feel even more weight- if that was possible- settle on him before it all disappeared.

With the new-found freedom, Maraud's lungs pulled in large amounts of air, and Maraud's hands started shaking. Heart hammering, Maraud cautiously stood up. His breathing was heavy, and he could practically feel his hair matted around his face. There was mud on his cheek and upper arms, but Maraud didn't pay any of that a single second of attention. He was more concerned with the thing that had sat on top of him for the longest ten minutes of his life.

One inch at a time Maraud slowly moved his feet, and pivoted around, but when he finally had turned all the way around, he almost wished that he hadn't. Because there, in front of him, was a dragon.

**Update fast enough? Story getting good? Hope y'all liked it, it was fun to write. Next chapter... should I start doing this? Giving a little teaser about what's going to happen? Or do you want to be surprised? Anyway, thanks a lot for favoriting, following, and reviewing :)**


	17. Choosing Battles

**Chapter 17**

Maraud watched in terrified fascination as the… dragon slinked its way over to Hiccup. Its eyes held Maraud in place while it slowly wrapped itself around Hiccup's slender frame, its long tail twisting over Hiccup, almost as if checking for injuries. Maraud's brain kept telling his eyes to look again, that there was no way that dragons were real. His eyes, meanwhile, kept insisting that what they were showing his brain was what was actually in front of him. _Well then,_ Maraud's brain screamed, _why are we just standing here? We need to kill it, or run!_ But with the dragon watching him like that, Maraud really didn't want to move. At all.

Hiccup sighed, like she was _annoyed_, but she still seemed happy. Happier than Maraud had ever seen her, no question about that. But still, Maraud couldn't understand it. She was acting as if everything was fine! Maybe... maybe Maraud had been drugged. His porridge had tasted a little funny that morning, hadn't it?

"I know sweetie, I missed you too," Even Hiccup's voice was cheerier than Maraud had heard before. At that point, he just didn't know what to think. Should he still be upset at Hiccup? Should he run for his life? Or fight the monster Hiccup called 'sweetie?'

Maraud blinked hard, in case it all happened to be a terrible nightmare. But when his eyes snapped back open, despair sank deep into Maraud's stomach. It hadn't moved. In front of Maraud was a giant reptilian monster from legend. Except, it wasn't legend. It was real. He could see its claws, its teeth, and he could practically _feel_ the heat from the fire which could undoubtedly escape its fearsome maw at any second. And, almost more importantly, it didn't seem to like him.

Fight? Or flight?

Blood rushing in his ears, no thoughts running in his mind, Maraud stepped closer to the two oddities in front of him and notched an arrow on his bow.

At the sight of the weapon, Hiccup's eyes widened and she practically jumped out of the creature's embrace. She threw herself in front of the black dragon, arms spread out like wings. Maraud growled under his breath in frustration.

"Hiccup!" he yelled while moving to the side, trying to get a better angle on the dragon, "Get out of the way! Now!"

"No!" Hiccup moved with Maraud, getting in his way every time he might have found an acceptable angle to hit the creature with. The dragon moved closer, pushing Hiccup forward, towards Maraud, and hissed threateningly. Maraud's heart beat frantically, but he hoped that the dragon couldn't tell. Hiccup pushed backwards on the dragon, closing its mouth slightly, and Maraud sent her a silent, grudging thanks in his head.

"That thing is a monster just as much as Mordue is!" Maraud explained, "I'm killing it, now move!"

"No," Hiccup denied firmly, "What are you talking about? This is Toothless. Toothless, Maraud,"

Maraud mentally rolled his eyes. As if introductions would be much of a help at that point. The beast apparently thought the same thing. At its name, 'Toothless' hissed again, louder, and its pupils contracted into such thin slits that Maraud could barely see them anymore. There was something strangely… intelligent about the beast. Intelligent, and deadly.

Maraud aimed his bow again, hoping to catch Hiccup off guard, but she was vigilant. She jumped in his way again, and started shouting,

"No! You don't hurt toothless! He's my dragon, and I'm his human. We're partners. If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me, too!"

Maraud turned to look at Angus, to ensure himself that he had a way out of the situation, but as it turned out, he didn't. Angus had already pulled free of his restraints and fled. In other words, Maraud was completely alone with his crazy fiancée and her dragon.

He turned quickly back to the dragon, not wanting to be caught unawares again. He was surprised to see (why he was surprised, though, he wasn't sure. He should have been used to Hiccup's strangeness by then, right?) her checking its paws.

"He had arrows on him back, Sweetie," Hiccup was saying as she ran her hand tenderly across the bottom of one of the creature's massive paws. "I'm just making sure you're alright,"

Maraud swore that he saw the dragon roll its eyes at Hiccup. Maraud almost thought it was a fond gesture. It rumbled lowly and Hiccup muttered,

"Yeah, yeah. Just hold still, you lazy lizard,"

Maraud started backing up slowly towards the forest. He could flee. Or fight. Maraud tightened his grip on the worn bow in his hands, and his hard earned muscles tightened. He watched the two Berk natives interact with each other, but most of his focus was on the dragon. It was massive, larger than his father and Chief Stoic put together. Its movements were unnervingly fluid and its build mechanically lithe. If Maraud was running through the forest, he was sure the thing could outrun him. Or, if the stories were anything to go off, out _fly_ him.

So should Maraud try to fight it? What would happen then? Maraud would maybe be able to get a couple of shots in before the dragon knocked him to the ground and tore his face off? Or would Hiccup come to his rescue. Maraud quietly growled under his breath. No way he was going to count on Hiccup anymore. Who knew what other secrets she had up her sleeves.

Maraud eyed the dragon again. It was long, and strong, and it looked like it was designed to hurt anyone or anything that dared to cross it. Maraud realized with a crushing feeling in the pit of his stomach that there was no way he could possibly outfight the monster. And even if he could, he would probably have to deal with a raging Princess Hiccup after that. He had never seen her so riled up before. And for what? A... dragon. A mindless, killing machine. She was insane, thinking that it was her 'sweetie.' Maraud definitely couldn't fight her craziness while he was alone. Especially when he was alone but Hiccup had a dragon on her side. But... if he told his mum and da about the beast… they could help him get rid of it.

There was no way Maraud was about to let the people of Dunbrough live in more danger than they were already in. Mordue was one story- he had been there since the Highlands themselves had formed. But this? The dragon? It could be eradicated. Easily. Well… with the help of other warriors from Dunbrough. Ignoring the stinging sensation his pride was enduring, and the squeezing of his ego, Maraud slowly started to back up, towards the edge of the forest. And when he was close enough, he did the only sensible thing to do.

Maraud turned and ran.

**There's a little more for this... sequence, I guess? Anyways, it'll be over by chapter twenty, I'm hoping, and then a whole lot of stuff will be happening. I'm glad you guys like it, but this is hardly going to be the biggest conflict that Hiccup and Maraud will go through. By the end, though, Hiccup will have a happy ending, and Toothless will like the person she ends up with. If that's cryptic enough for you, thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. I love reading them, even if I don't speak Portuguese :)**


	18. Everything That Could Go Wrong

**Chapter 18**

Hiccup looked up from checking Toothless's paws, searching for the fiery flame of Maraud's hair. She knew that he was short tempered, and that he got angry at a lot of things, but she didn't think he would get so heated at Toothless's mere _existence. _

She searched for a second longer before mentally cursing herself. Maraud might have been as stubborn as most Vikings, but he was also a warrior. A good one. And a skill which every successful warrior needed was the ability to know when to retreat. Maraud was running back to Dunbrough.

Hiccup whirled around to face Toothless.

"We need to get him back," she told him. At his slitted pupils and loud hiss, Hiccup huffed and said, "I know you don't like him, but I can't risk you getting hurt," Hiccup's tone became pleading, "Please, bud, we have to go after him,"

Toothless's face softened, and he looked away before groaning and snapping quickly at her. Hiccup jumped onto Toothless's back and couldn't help the smile from forming on her face as they took to the sky. She sure was lucky that Toothless loved her.

Hiccup looked behind herself, and cursed herself for not adding the other attachable saddles onto Toothless. But, there was nothing to be done about that now. Toothless shook his head, and Hiccup looked down. There was Maraud. She looked forward. They were not close to the kingdom of Dunbrough at all. Even if Maraud yelled, screamed, or called for help, no one would be able hear him.

Toothless let out a questioning warble, and Hiccup patted his neck in approval. The two of them swooped stealthily down and grabbed him. His reaction was immediate.

"W-wh-AHHH!" Maraud screamed, clutching onto Toothless's paw desperately. Toothless moved toward a tall tree, but Hiccup discreetly shifted her weight away, and Toothless flew further away from Dunbrough.

With Astrid, Toothless and Hiccup had placed her onto the highest branch of the tallest tree in the Berkian woods. But, Maraud was not Astrid. Hiccup knew for certain that Astrid would agree to come with her, but Hiccup didn't have the same amount of faith in Maraud. Maraud could be unhealthily stubborn at times, and if he didn't want to get onto Toothless's back, Hiccup was sure that he would actually climb down the tree, even if it would take him a year to do so.

So, Hiccup just reached down and tried to help pull Maraud behind her, on Toothless's back. Unfortunately for her, Maraud really was a stubborn little Viking in disguise.

"No!" he protested, and pulled harshly away from Hiccup's hands. "Let go of me!"

Toothless rolled his eyes and loosened his grip on the stupid red-head. The Scottish royal let out a girlish scream, and clung tightly onto Toothless's leg. The little brat sure was lucky that Toothless was so loyal to Hiccup. He would never purposefully kill her fiancée, even if said fiancée deserved aforementioned death.

After a long, strenuous struggle, Maraud reluctantly ended up on top of the dragon. He wasn't sure if he should be thankful or disgusted, but he couldn't find it in him to care. Maraud glanced downwards and squeezed his eyes shut. They were so far up that the air was hard to breath in, and it was freezing cold.

Maraud desperately clutched onto Hiccup, and brought himself impossibly close to her. In doing so, he couldn't help but to smell her sweet scented hair, or to enjoy the feeling of her body pressing against his own. In fact, her presence was so soothing that Maraud almost let himself relax and enjoy the flight.

But no. Maraud pushed those thoughts aside. He couldn't be content with this. He was angry. No, not angry, Maraud was _furious!_

Maraud had his rights, and one of those was to not be kidnapped by his fiancée and her unreasonably dangerous monster pet. So, Maraud told Hiccup. He screamed it over the rushing winds, and held onto her even tighter than before. He was almost certain that he was hurting her, but he found that he didn't care. He wanted to get down, and at that point, only Hiccup could arrange that for him.

"You didn't even give me a chance to explain!" Hiccup yelled back at him. "You don't have to kill toothless!" She pleaded. "You can't!"

Rage and blood swirled in Maraud's ears, and all he could see was red.

"I _can't _kill him?" Maraud roared. "Let me show you what I can and cannot do, _Princess_!"

In a fit of rage, Maraud pulled out an arrow from his quiver, fully intent on stabbing the dragon underneath him with it. Maraud might not have been able to kill Mordue, but there was no reason that he shouldn't be able to save his people from the dragon.

"No!" Hiccup screamed. She twisted around and tried to keep Maraud's arm above her head. Maraud started pushing down with all his strength, and used his weight to his advantage as well. Hiccup's arms started to tremble, and Maraud leaned down further, forcing the arrow closer to the dragon's body. Hiccup kept trying to stop him, but Maraud was too strong.

With no warning what-so-ever, the dragon jerked to the side, and Maraud felt his head spin. The dragon started spinning, and Maraud started yelling again. The dragon flapped its powerful wings and started moving up in the sky before falling straight down. The dragon snapped its wings out, and Maraud's head practically exploded. The dragon turned sharply to the left, and Maraud felt like he was going to be sick.

He pressed himself closer to Hiccup, and noticed that somehow she was completely steady, even with all the abrupt changes in the flying patterns of the dragon underneath her. Maraud noticed also how still he became on the dragon's back if he just pressed himself to Hiccup's body.

Maraud raised his hand again, fully intent on puncturing the dragon's side. He forced his arm down, confident that nothing Hiccup could do would stop his arrow from hitting Maraud's target. Maraud's arrows rarely missed, anyway, and never when the target was less than five feet away.

But, Hiccup did love to surprise Maraud. The split second before the arrow pierced the dragon's dark, scaly hide, Hiccup's right leg moved in the way. Maraud immediately let go of the arrow as Hiccup let out a pained scream. He stared wide-eyed in horror at the girl in front of her. He had… He had missed, and missed terribly. Maraud's stomach turned as he remembered the sound the arrow had made on its way into the flesh and muscle of Hiccup's leg.

"Nothing can take Toothless away from me!" Hiccup practically snarled in Maraud's face. "I don't care who you think you are, but I can tell you exactly _what_ you are!" Maraud's heart was still beating quickly from injuring Hiccup so much with the arrow, and now that he was seeing Hiccup acting like this, Maraud wondered if he was hallucinating. Because dragons didn't exist, he didn't miss with arrows, and Hiccup didn't get angry. "A selfish, bratty little boy who can't even listen to anyone's ideas other than his own, and if anyone tries to show him anything other than what he's used to, or wants, he shoots it down. _Literally!_

"Well let me tell you something, _Mr. Prince,_" Hiccup almost sounded like she was mocking him with the title. Did Hiccup know how to mock? Did she even know what mocking was? "You will not touch a single scale on Toothless's body if it kills me!" Hiccup started to sway in her seat, and Maraud reached out to steady her, but Toothless growled, and Hiccup swatted the hand away before snapping,

"I don't need your help!" she took a deep breath, but continued harshly, "Getting engaged to you took everything away from me. But, I agreed to the marriage because I knew I could bring Toothless here with me. And now, here you are, trying to take the only thing I have away from me!" Hiccup took a deep, unsteady breath, and leaned down to rub Toothless's neck before lying down completely on the dragon's back. She finished softly,

"But I won't let that happen."

* * *

**So, this took a while, but Saturday nights inspire me! It's getting a little more intense now, right? Any predictions about what might happen next chapter? I already have an outline for this whole story, but sometimes in the reviews, I read some really cool ideas which I might just end up using. Anyway, thanks for waiting, and following, favoriting, and reviewing :) **


	19. Getting Her To Safety

**Chapter 19**

Maraud wasn't couldn't be completely sure, but he was pretty sure that Hiccup's eyes were closed, and that she passed out. Probably because of the pain. She was completely still except for her left leg, which occasionally moved up and down, making a faint clicking noise every time she did so.

Maraud wasn't exactly sure how or why the dragon knew to fly back to the same rock circle Maraud's unwanted journey had started in, but he was thankful when the dragon started descending quickly.

When they were about seven feet off the ground, Maraud considered jumping off. They were still a good distance away from the ground, but if Maraud jumped now, he wouldn't break his legs. But then, he hesitated and looked at Hiccup. If he jumped now, would she fall off? No matter how angry Maraud was with the whole situation with the dragon, there was no way he could in good conscious let Hiccup get hurt while already having a severe injury, cause by Maraud himself.

So, Maraud uncomfortably sat back down on the dragon's warm back until it touched the ground. He was about to run and grab a royal physician and a couple of guards, which would be killing two birds with one stone. He could save Hiccup, and kill the dragon, and it would only take one journey to the castle and back.

But he paused and looked back at Hiccup, who was being looked after so tenderly by the dragon. The dragon looked up, and its toxic green eyes bored holes into Maraud's soul. It nudged Hiccup slightly before licking around her wound and warbling softly at her. Maraud's face screwed up with disgust, and he knew that he had to get Hiccup to proper medical care.

Maraud cautiously stepped forward, and the beast roared lightly at him. Maraud scrambled back a couple of feet. Heart racing, he realized that he was still alive. He looked back at the dragon, and its eyes were still trained on him. But then they moved to look at Hiccup before glancing pointedly at Maraud.

The message the dragon was trying to send was unclear. Maybe it was a warning: 'If you come near me again, I will not hesitate to eat you.' Maybe it was a threat: 'If you don't taste good, you will regret it.' Maybe it was an order: 'Grow a pair! Hurry up and get Hiccup out of here! Help her!'

Maraud didn't have time for indecision. He strained his eyes in the dark and focused on Hiccup's leg, which was leaking a constant river of blood. He didn't care what the dragon meant. Hiccup _needed _medical treatment.

So, he took a deep breath and rushed to Hiccup's side, scooped her up into his arms, and quickly started walking back to his kingdom. He tried to keep pressure on her bleeding wound for a while, but he just ended up moving the arrow which was still stuck in her leg, and made her cry out in pain more than Maraud felt comfortable with. Not only were there bears and Mordue for Maraud to worry about now, but there was a bloody dragon as well!

Maraud shifted his hold on Hiccup and started trekking through the forest even faster than before. Hiccup let out a moan of discomfort,

"Hush," Maraud shushed her. In her sleep, Hiccup frowned and, as if purely to spite him, cried out even louder than before at the next jostle Maraud made.

If his hands were free, Maraud would have ran his hands through his hair. He just couldn't believe that the girl in his arms could be as determined as she had proved to be. Not only had she kidnapped Maraud, but she had also attempted to physically stop him from hurting her pet, and when he overpowered her, she sacrificed her good leg to keep the beast safe and free of harm.

Never before had Maraud seen a princess fight so hard for something. And the thing was, she didn't sound or act like it was something new for her. Maraud kept walking through the eerily silent forest, wondering how many times Hiccup had to fight tooth and nail for what she wanted.

Maraud dodged a low hanging tree branch and couldn't help but to compare the girl in his arms to himself. He, too, fought hard for what he believed in. And he, too, would do whatever it took to get others to listen to him. And the results his actions as well usually had many shortcomings and a thin silver lining.

But, there was a major difference between Maraud and Hiccup. Maraud valued his independence above all else, but Hiccup seemed to not care about freedom at all. No, she cared about that… beast more than anything else Or so it seemed.

Maraud stumbled through the last trees of the forest and started staggering through the plaza, which was just beginning to wake up.

Before Maraud completely immersed himself back into Dunbrough society, Maraud looked back to the woods. He wasn't sure if it was just his sleep deprived mind, or if it was reality, but he could have sworn he had seen two glowing green eyes staring at him threateningly from the woods. Maraud blinked, and the glowing eyes were gone.

Completely exhausted, Maraud struggled into the castle gates, where he was immediately surrounded by servants. Someone called for a doctor, and everyone else asked where he was hurt. Drowsily, Maraud shook his head.

"Not me. It's Hiccup. Help her,"

As the servants took Hiccup out of his arms, Maraud thought back to her final words to him before she blacked out. His feet carried Maraud dutifully to his room, and Maraud wondered if he really was selfish? He knew he was stubborn, his mum had told him that same thing many, many times. But had he ever been called selfish? Never. While Hiccup might have been smart in many aspects, she must have been suffering from blood loss when she had said that. Maraud wasn't selfish. He just demanded to get what he was entitled to.

Stubborn he was. But selfish? Him? Maraud collapsed in his bed and darkness immediately overcame him. He didn't see how Hiccup could come to that conclusion. Maraud could be selfless. He would have to prove it to her. But, later. Right then, Maraud was exhausted.

* * *

**The next chapter won't be very long, I think. I'm thinking it's going to be mainly dialogue, and Maraud realizing exactly what he did in the woods. I was wondering if I should start naming my chapters? I could go back and name my older ones, too. Anyway, thanks for following, favoriting, and reviewing :)**


	20. Maraud's Easy To Get Angry At

**Chapter 20**

Maraud faced his angry mother. He wasn't sure why she even bothered anymore. It wasn't like her being angry with him made him change his ways, or repent. They would just end up arguing, Maraud would run out to the woods, and when he came back to the castle, his mum would start yelling at him. Again. It was a cycle, but Maraud was annoyingly used to it.

She got upset and yelled at him so often that Maraud wasn't even sure if he physically _could _listen to what she said anymore. She was yelling right then. Something about 'How could he be so inconsiderate? So violent? So harsh with such a gentle girl?'

He hadn't told her it wasn't his entire fault. In fact, Maraud had barely told his mum that it was him who had hit Hiccup with the arrow. If he said anything more, Hiccup's dragon would have to be spoken about. While it wasn't exactly common for Maraud to think this way, he figured that there were certain things which needed to be thought about, or talked about. Maraud wanted to speak with Hiccup about the large reptile before he took any more action against it. For all his faults, Maraud knew how to learn from his past mistakes. The last time he had tried to kill the dragon without a plan, or without letting Hiccup speak, he had stabbed her in the leg.

"I am," his mum had stopped yelling, and was now rubbing her forehead, exhausted, while saying, "Ashamed to call you my son."

That stung like a sharp bramble in Maraud's chest. Never had either of his parents ever said that they were ashamed of him. Maraud had very particular interests, and he had always worked hard at those interests, drawing out his parents' pride that way. And now, there he was, being told by his mum that she was ashamed to have him as her son. Maraud really wanted his parents to be proud of him. If that made him selfish, then Maraud couldn't care less. He wanted what he wanted, and one of the things he deeply desired was his parents pride.

"She gave up everything," his mum said softly. "Her home, her village, her family. Friends. And for what? To come to a strange land with strange customs- all alone,"

_Well, _Maraud thought. _Not _all_ alone. _

"-and marry some man she's never met before. And why did she do this? For her people. Not a single complaint out of her. I've been to her island, Maraud. Things are done so much differently there than they are here. And yet, not once have we seen this princess show one sign of discomfort. She's been polite and considerate and understanding to all of us and all of our customs, and now she's in there with a bloody arrow in her leg!" his mum's voice had gotten hard at the end, and she was now glaring up at her son.

At least Maraud had the decency to look ashamed. It wasn't like he could look proud of hitting the girl in the leg. His sisters were clutching their mum's skirts and looking up at him through their unruly hair with their bright blue eyes. Those eyes, which were full of such disappointment in him, and such fear for Hiccup, cause a twinge in Maraud's heart. His sisters rarely spoke with or cared for anyone. And they just so happened to do both for Hiccup. And Maraud just so happened to shoot her. There was no way Maraud couldn't look ashamed.

He didn't want his sisters or his mum to hate him. He needed to defend himself, to stand up for himself. Because he was sure Hiccup wouldn't, if they asked her. If Maraud was in Hiccup's position, he knew he wouldn't.

"It wasn't like I wanted to hit her," Maraud said angrily.

"I know your skills, Maraud. You're the best," his mum almost sounded bitter. Maraud blinked. His mum was never bitter. She was always a composed, objective queen. How had Hiccup managed to make his mum love her already? "So how can I believe that you didn't mean to hit her?"

Did his mum really think him so petty? That he didn't want to get married, so he shot his fiancée, hoping that she would run away, or call off the wedding? Did she really think so little of him? Indignance rose up in Maraud's chest.

"I wasn't aiming for her!" Maraud insisted hotly. "My target was right there in front of me, but then she just got in the way! It's not my fault! And I didn't mean to hit her!"

"So that's what happened?" his mum asked, but she still sounded like she didn't believe him.

"Yes!" Maraud cried, exasperated. It would have been so easy to just say that he was trying to hit her dragon, and that she got in the way to save it. Then the guards could kill the reptile, saving everyone in Dunbrough, Hiccup would be locked away, and Maraud wouldn't have to get married. But, after shooting the girl in the leg, the least Maraud could do was protect her filthy devil lizard. At least, until he had thought over the dangers the dragon posed, and/or had spoken with Hiccup about it.

Maraud leaned down to come face to face with his mother, glaring into her deep brown eyes. His mum didn't back down. However, the two royals were distracted from their glaring contest when a shuffling sound came from the physician's room and Hiccup started… Was she laughing?

Maraud rolled his eyes while his mum looked worriedly at the door. Hiccup certainly was an odd one, and Maraud really needed to stop getting so surprised by her.

But when the physician started yelling, Maraud didn't even hesitate before rushing to the room. It was probably the dragon! Maraud knew he should have killed it. This was exactly the reason the dragon shouldn't live. Maraud barely heard his mum tell his sisters to go to their room before rushing after him. Maraud drew his sword and barged into the physician's office.

When the mother and son saw and processed what Hiccup was doing, Maraud's mum smacked her hand over Maraud's eyes. But, she was a little slow. Maraud had already seen everything.

Hiccup's skirt lay on the ground (its leather dragon-scale pattern suddenly made sense to Maraud) next to her metal prosthetic. She had shucked off her light brown leggings, exposing her entire lower body to the world, and Maraud's eyes had skimmed over it all. But, he only focused on her legs. Leg.

The bottom half of her left was just a stump. She had a nice, shapely thigh, and then a knee, and then her leg just stopped abruptly in an ugly mush of wrinkles and scars.

Maraud had seen his da's leg, or lack thereof, many times in his life, and had never really been bothered by it. Mordue had bitten it off such a long time ago that his da's missing foot had simply become a part of him. But Maraud felt differently with Hiccup.

Sure Maraud had seen her walking around with her prosthetic, but it was built in such a way to make her still walk with the same bounce and balance as a regular person who had both legs. In all honesty, the fact that one of her legs was missing never truly sank into Maraud's mind. He had heard her narrate the story of how she lost it, but he had been focusing more on Hiccup's captivating voice and haunted eyes than he had on her missing limb.

And now her one good, whole, leg, was pierced almost the entire way through with one of Maraud's arrows. She was lucky it wasn't poisoned, or she would have been in very serious trouble. Not that she wasn't already.

Eleanor couldn't believe what her son was becoming. First he shot the girl in the leg, and now he was staring at her while she was weak and exposed. Hiccup turned toward her and her son. She said in a voice as cold as the air on the island of Berk,

"Maraud, get out."

Eleanor agreed wholeheartedly and dragged Maraud out of the room so that the physician could do his work on Hiccup in peace. She just hoped that the strong princess would heal quickly, and would decide to not declare war against Dunbrough for her son's actions. Good God did Eleanor hope.

* * *

**We're about half way through the story! Man, that went fast! Just thought I'd let you know, if you're one of those people who likes to know how long the story's going to be. Anyway, now the story is really going to start picking up. There's not a specific chapter which starts the action, it's more like it's all a domino effect, I think. I hope I set everything up alright. So, are we still hating on Maraud, or are we going to give him a chance? He may be selfish right now, but... he's learning. Or, he's going to. Next chapter, we're going to see a side of Hiccup we usually don't see, and it'll lead up to a chapter of mother-daughter bonding. I think it'll be cute. By the way, should I start naming the chapters? If I do, I'll go back and name the other chapters, too. I was thinking about it, and I was just wondering what y'all thought about it. Thanks for reading this story and for all the favorites, follows, and reviews :)**


	21. Trusting Eleanor

**Chapter 21**

Eleanor sat next to Hiccup, looking over the injured girl worriedly. The princess was supposed to be resting, but rest seemed to be the last thing on the Viking girl's mind. The guards had already caught her at the gates twice that day. Eleanor couldn't help but marvel at the girl's strength. Just yesterday the princess had gotten shot by a razor-sharp arrow in the leg, and today she was already walking around as if she was fine. But, she wasn't.

Eleanor lifted another spoon of the thick sheep stew to the girl's lips. Hiccup was the same height as Eleanor, and was just about the same body type and weight as well, but right then the girl looked so small and weak. Her face was slightly paler than usual, causing the constellation-like freckles on her face to stand out. Sweat coated her face, and her hair darkened as it stuck to her forehead. She silently panted when she thought the queen wasn't looking, and Eleanor was reminded of her son, who did the same thing when he was sick. Eleanor mentally shook her head. That boy...so different from his sisters. At least they listened. Well... most of the time. Sometimes.

After Hiccup's second escape attempt, Eleanor's three daughters had gone to visit her. While Eleanor had been worried at the time about Hiccup's rest, the princess had laughed slightly and had assured the queen that she was fine. The triplets had stayed, playing with Hiccup for a couple of hours before Eleanor put her foot down and told them to go play with Maudy.

As soon as the three little girls had left, Hiccup had seemed to deflate like a balloon, and Eleanor had immediately told the cooks to make some food for Hiccup. When Hiccup refused, saying that she was fine, Eleanor had had to tell the girl to put her head on right, that she had lost a lot of blood, and that she needed food as well as rest to re-energize. Hiccup had relented, but would only agree to drink a stew, and she liked sheep. So, that's what the cooks had prepared for her.

Eleanor smiled slightly as the girl in bed smiled softly at her before drinking the soup. Maraud had _never_ been like this with her, and her daughters were more… adventurous than Eleanor could keep up with.

The door opened and Hiccup and Eleanor turned to see who it was. It was Maraud. He stepped into the room, and Eleanor checked Hiccup's reaction. She didn't smile at him shyly like she normally did, but that was to be expected. He had just shot her in her only working leg not a day ago. Hiccup scowled and her face turned red. Eleanor assumed with rage. Hiccup gently took the bowl of soup from Eleanor's hands and started drinking. Multiple times, Maraud tried to talk to Hiccup, but she would just keep drinking her soup. In no time at all, it was all gone. Not even a drop left in the bowl.

Eleanor laughed and said,

"My. If I knew he could make you eat it all so fast, I would have brought Maraud in here much sooner. Perhaps next time he could feed you,"

"No." Hiccup's response was swift, and her tone was law. Eleanor stared at the girl in shock. She had never heard the lass sound so rude and cold. Eleanor looked at Maraud, who looked troubled, and yet determined. That was never a good combination.

Eleanor stood up. The two of them were grown people, about to get married even. They were practically adults, for heaven's sake. The engaged royals didn't need her there to help them sort out their differences. If anything, Eleanor would only make the situation more tense and awkward. So, hoping that she read the atmosphere correctly, Eleanor stepped around Maraud and started walking away from the room.

She barely stepped five feet away before she started running back. As soon as she heard yelling she knew that she should have stayed. Eleanor was surprised to hear not only Maraud, but Hiccup screaming as well. Eleanor reached the doors and pulled them open in time for Maraud to storm out. Eleanor glanced into the room, and her eyes first found Hiccup, who was fuming in her bed. Broken shards of the bowl were on the floor, and

"I'm sorry, My Queen," Even through the polite words and tone, Eleanor could recognize the dark anger in Hiccup's normally bright green eyes. Eleanor couldn't help but wonder what her idiotic son could have possibly done to make the naturally gentle-natured girl so riled up and angry. Other than almost permanently ruining her only good leg, of course. Or walking in on her while she was taking off her skirt and leggings for the doctor. On second thought, Eleanor wondered how Hiccup wasn't _more_ angry than she seemed to be.

The door creaked open once again, and Eleanor turned quickly to see who would walk in next. First came Hiccup's two girl Viking friends. After them came Hiccup's cousin and the taller blonde girl's twin. Squeezing into the room after them was the larger Viking boy. Eleanor left so that they could have a few hours together before they were separated.

In the morning, the other Viking teenagers would be leaving back to their home. And then Hiccup would be truly alone.

* * *

The next day, Eleanor was informed that Hiccup specifically asked for her to visit her. Eleanor did so, wondering why Hiccup's family avoided having anything to do with Maraud when they were leaving. Hiccup had a perfectly understandable reason for wanting to avoid her boy, but Eleanor was curious why her friends were as well. From what the queen had seen on their island, Berkians were fine with violence, and the ill-feelings only bloomed between the people in the argument, and everyone else minded their own business, not choosing sides. So Eleanor really was wondering why Hiccup's aggravation towards Maraud spread to Hiccup's friends as well.

"Hello," Hiccup greeted pleasantly as Eleanor walked into the room.

"Hello, Dear," Eleanor smiled warmly, glad that Hiccup wasn't as upset as she had been the previous day. Hiccup sighed suddenly and rubbed a hand over her face tiredly. Eleanor immediately sensed tension leak into the room as Hiccup's entire demeanor changed, becoming stiffer and more guarded than before.

"I have to tell you about something," she said seriously. Eleanor furrowed her brows and sat at the edge of Hiccup's bed, silently beckoning the younger girl to spit it out. "Well… My father left a while ago, right?" Confused, Eleanor nodded. "And now, my friends are sailing away, too. Right?" Again, Eleanor nodded. Hiccup bit her lip and looked away for a second, but then she took a deep breath and looked Eleanor in the eyes. Eleanor was surprised and a little intimidated by how intensely Hiccup was gazing at her. "But, I'm not alone,"

"Of course you're not," Eleanor said slowly. "I'm here. And my girls. And so if Fergus. And," Eleanor said cautiously, "You are marrying Maraud soon enough,"

Hiccup shook her head.

"No. I mean, yes, you, King Fergus, Hilda, Helen, and Hillary are here," Eleanor noticed that Hiccup tactfully left Maraud out of the list of people. "But I meant someone I'm more… intimate with,"

"Are you- do you-" Eleanor couldn't think straight. Was Hiccup saying what Eleanor thought she was saying? "Do you have a lover here?"

Hiccup frowned.

"A lover? No," Just the thought of the idea seemed to confuse Hiccup, and Eleanor silently let out a breath of relief. She didn't even want to think of what would happen should Hiccup have a lover with her on Dunbrough. "I meant… someone from Berk. Well, not exactly some_one..._"

And so Eleanor sat silently as Hiccup explained about her situation with Toothless. About how he was in the woods, and how she flew with him every night, and how she trusted him with her life.

"He's not dangerous," Hiccup assured. "If you want," Hiccup hesitated, though Eleanor wasn't sure why. Hiccup had practically laid all of her cards on the table. What else could Hiccup possibly be unsure about revealing to her? "If you want," Hiccup repeated, "I could show you,"

Eleanor couldn't quite believe Hiccup. She wasn't sure if she thought the Viking princess to be crazy or not, but she sure didn't _want_ Hiccup to be insane. Eleanor made up her mind. She would do what she could to prove Hiccup sane.

"Alright," Eleanor said firmly, though on the inside she was very much unsure. "Show me."

* * *

**A little slower, I admit, but it'll pick up REAL soon, believe me. Next chapter, Eleanor is going to see a whole new side of Hiccup, and she'll make a new friend, as well. Not really much to say this chapter, but I am a little worried about y'all. I'm reading my comments and I'm starting to think that ya'll hate Maraud. You do know this is a Mericup fic, right? Go back and read chapter 9. Most of the reviews for that chapter were like 'oh my gosh! He's falling for her! Yay!' and now ya'll are like, 'Maraud is selfish and has no class!' Just... don't hate Maraud! I'll try to make him likeable again! Any ideas on how to help you not hate him anymore? If I can, I'll try to fit your idea into the story. Before I forget, thanks for all the favorites (I have like, 80!) and follows (almost 90!) and all those reviews (more than 100!) I'm just super excited, so thanks y'all :)**


	22. First Times

**Chapter 22**

Eleanor went to see Hiccup the next day, after dinner with her family. She was so nervous and strangely excited that she barely ate anything, and had as hard a time sitting still as Maraud normally did. Halfway through the meal, Eleanor noticed Maraud looking at her oddly, and Fergus trying to discreetly pass her some pain relieving herbs. She had scoffed and finished the rest of the meal with much more poise than she had previously been doing.

* * *

"Alright, Hiccup," Eleanor whispered as she softly closed the door behind her. "I'm here, let's go,"

"Umm... well this is embarrassing," Hiccup stuttered quietly before she actually addressed the queen. "I still have to get some food for Toothless,"

"Does his food have anything to do with the large quantities of missing seafood from our kitchen, by any chance?" Eleanor asked with a raised eyebrow. Hiccup smiled sheepishly and slowly got out of her bed. Eleanor almost ran to Hiccup's side, expecting the pain to overcome her, but the wee lass just brushed some dust off of her clothes before starting in the direction of the kitchen, Eleanor cautiously following not five inches behind her, arms ready in case the pain suddenly became too much for the girl.

Once there, Eleanor watched in surprise and slight disbelief as the girl hefted a bag of fish no less than thirty pounds onto her back.

"Let me help you, Dear," Eleanor said worriedly, but Hiccup laughed quietly.

"No, My Queen-"

"Please," Eleanor interjected. "If it's not too much to ask, call me 'Mum,'"

Hiccup blinked, but smiled softly,

"Mum. No, I'll carry this. You'd just end up hurting yourself,"

_And you're not harming yourself?_ Eleanor wondered.

Hiccup led the two of them stealthily out of the castle, through the plaza, and into the forest. Eleanor watched with continued awe as Hiccup easily trekked through the twisting and turning terrain with the extra weight on her, not once wincing or complaining in the slightest. If anything, the young princess almost spent more energy worrying about Eleanor than she did about her own health.

The two of them kept walking in silence, surrounded completely by the velvety blanket of darkness. The deeper into the forest the two women walked, the higher the uneasy feeling in Eleanor's chest rose.

* * *

"Hiccup," Eleanor panted slightly as the moon shone on her long brown hair. "I think that maybe we should head back. There's nothing out he-ahhh!"

Eleanor considered herself a fairly fearless woman. She never flinched at the sight of spiders, or shied away at the commotion her husband and all his friends made when they were idiotically drunk. She didn't jump at the loud roars of the bears Fergus hunting, or cringe at the scent of blood. But, the thing in front of her right at that moment terrified her enough to scream and fall on her royal butt before scrambling backwards as fast as she could.

"H-Hiccup!" Eleanor called out in sheer terror. The queen needed to grab the girl and get the two of them out of the forest before the reptile in front of her killed them both.

Its sharp blue-green eyes stared at Eleanor in a frighteningly intense way which seemed uncomfortably familiar. It was large in size, but it seemed to naturally possess the grace which Eleanor had to work on for years to attain. It was sleek and slender, but Eleanor could see the powerful muscles sliding under its scaly hide like oil. On its back were two large wings, like bat wings, but much more massive, and much more threatening. The thing in front of her… it couldn't be… it was. Eleanor was staring straight at a dragon.

"Toothless!" Eleanor heard Hiccup cry out in absolute joy. Before Eleanor or the… _dragon_ in front of her could blink, Hiccup's small body flew onto the dragon's back, and the two of them went flying back. Eleanor stayed frozen on the ground for a moment before she scrambled to her feet.

"Hiccup!"

The dragon had melted out of the very shadows. Who knew what other magic it could do? And what would it do to Hiccup? Eleanor needed to save her! After all, if she didn't, who would?

"Hiccup!" Eleanor was more desperate this time. She lurched unsteadily towards where the dragon was rolling around. Eleanor stepped closer and heard… laughing?

"Mum!" Hiccup said happily out of breath as she stood next to the dragon, resting her arms on its neck, putting most of her weight on her left leg. "This is Toothless. Toothless, Eleanor Dunbrough. But, she's my new Mum. Remember her, Sweetie?"

The dragon (it slightly terrified and exhilarated Eleanor that she was getting used to the sight of it), Toothless, slithered closer to Eleanor, and Eleanor cautiously put out a hand, trying to pretend the dragon was just a horse. under normal circumstances Eleanor would have run away screaming, ordering the guards to come kill it. After all, if the legends and stories were anything to go by, it was a mindless, dangerous beast that would kill her and everyone in her kingdom. But, for some reason, Eleanor didn't. Maybe it was the hopeful look on Hiccup's face. But, maybe it was the quiet sort of intelligence and mercy in the animal's eyes.

Eleanor reached out further and leveled her hand with the creature's potentially lethal snout. The dragon sniffed her hand before smiling up at Eleanor, showing off its shining pink gums.

_Oh,_ Eleanor realized. _So that's why she calls it Toothless. _

The dragon turned its back to Eleanor, and the queen noticed for the first time the saddle and complex systems in place on him. The dragon warbled softly at Hiccup, and Hiccup asked, surprised,

"Really? Are you sure?"

The dragon warbled again, and smiled up at Eleanor again. Eleanor smiled down and held out her hand again, unusually at ease with the large reptile. Toothless pressed his head against her hand, and Eleanor felt a warmth spread throughout her body. She had never known an animal to be that warm. It was comforting, especially on such a cold night. Along with her shivers, most of Eleanor's reservations about Toothless melted away.

"So…" Hiccup started, suddenly nervous. "Do you want to go on a ride?"

"Me?" Eleanor whirled around to face Hiccup. Eleanor didn't even think before asking, "Can I?"

Hiccup blinked before a wide smile started to spread onto her face.

"Only if you want to."

In no time, Hiccup had the extra seat attached onto Toothless's saddle, and the two women were seated on Toothless's back.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked Eleanor breathlessly, and Eleanor could only nod nervously, suddenly not as sure as she was five minutes ago. She was going to be _flying. In the air. _Eleanor wasn't sure if she was going crazy, or if she was just dreaming.

"We'll try to be gentle," Hiccup assured while patting Toothless's neck, and the dragon crooned happily in agreement. "Alright, Toothless," Hiccup said, jumping slightly in her seat. "Let's go,"

And with a mighty flap of the dragon's wings, they were in the air. Eleanor clutched onto Hiccup like a lifeline, and for the longest time she kept her eyes closed. She felt the cold air stinging her face, and a few loose strands of her hair whipped around her neck.

"Mum," Hiccup's soft voice said from ahead of Eleanor. Eleanor's chest warmed, and she was certain it wasn't because of Toothless. "Open your eyes."

After a few moments of indecisions, Eleanor willed her eyes to open. At first, she saw nothing. Just the dark sky above her, like she could have seen had she been on the balcony in her room. For a moment, the heavy weight of disappointment weighed on Eleanor's chest. But then she looked forward, and Eleanor's disappointment faded away and was replaced by awe.

She could see _everything_. For miles and miles, there were woods and streams and clearings, but beyond that… Eleanor could see farther than she ever had before. The queen looked below her and watched with amazed eyes as the animals in the forest lived on as they would have normally.

Again, Eleanor looked up, and then gasped. The stars were so much brighter than they ever had been before. On the back of this dragon, this magnificent beast, Eleanor was closer to the heavens as she ever could have been.

Eleanor looked forward again. Ahead of Hiccup, Eleanor could see the horizon, and then beyond it. Eleanor felt the wind in her hair, and she could hear everything clearer than before. She could smell the crispness of the air and the sap in the trees below her. She could see so many more possibilities around her, so many ways to go, and she had the authority to choose which way she wanted to go.

_This_ was freedom. _This_ was what Maraud spoke of so passionately. _This_ was what Eleanor had been too stubborn to experience. She was not going crazy. She was just seeing the world as it was meant to be seen for the first time.

It was impossible to be where she and Hiccup were by human means alone. That was why this dragon was so precious. He wasn't a beast- a mindless monster- like Mordue. From what Eleanor had seen from him, he had intellect, and an undeniable fondness for Hiccup. For that reason alone, the dragon had to be protected.

He had showed her what a hazy life she was living on the ground, eyes and thoughts clouded by the pressure of the sky on them. But now, Hiccup and Toothless had taken her above the air. She could see as she never had been able to before. Eleanor almost forgot what it was like, living down on Dunbrough. It seemed so much more natural to be in the air, seeing, feeling, hearing everything. Eleanor knew then that she was in trouble.

A few years ago, a couple of the teenagers in Dunbrough had been found burning a plant and inhaling its smoke. The adults immediately took the plant away, but then the teenagers started going crazy, demanding and craving the smoke of that plant. They were addicted. And now, Eleanor was sure she was addicted to this, to _flight._ And she wasn't guilty about it at all. She only wished she had listened to her son earlier.

"You know, Maraud always tells me about wanting his own freedom," Eleanor laughed as she cautiously lifted her arms into the sky, feeling the coolness of the air around her running through her fingers. Eleanor imagined flying on her own- feeling none of the weight she shouldered daily as part of the responsibility as queen. She breathed, "I'm sure he would have loved this,"

Hiccup winced and shifted uncomfortably, and Toothless growled from underneath Eleanor.

"About that…"

Hiccup explained the story of how and why Maraud actually hit her in the leg, and Eleanor tried to imagine doing the same thing from her position behind Hiccup. She lifted her hand, as if holding an arrow, and brought it down on Hiccup's right thigh- gently, of course. The angle was a perfect match. So then, her son really…

"Well?" Hiccup asked quietly, slowly helping Toothless take them back to the circle of rocks. "Aren't you going to defend him? Tell me to give him another chance?"

"I am his mother," Eleanor said quietly. "I would very much appreciate it if you gave him another chance. But am I going to defend him?"

Eleanor thought hard as Toothless slowly swooped down to the circle of rocks. Toothless. He was such a kind and gentle being. And Hiccup obviously loved him as much as he loved Hiccup. There was no reason Maraud had gotten so angry other than the fact that Maraud had been angry even before Toothless showed up. Eleanor mentally smacked her son. He was such a child. Honestly, the boy needed to grow up. Women didn't marry boys. They married men. Eleanor only hoped that Hiccup could train Maraud to become one, like she had trained Toothless to trust her.

During their flight, Hiccup had eventually told Eleanor the true story of how she had actually lost her leg. A day ago, if anyone had told Eleanor about a _dragon _the size of which was comparable to a _mountain,_ she would not have believed them. In fact, she would probably have feared them crazy and sent them to the mad house. But now...

Eleanor leaned down and gently patted Toothless's side, and he hummed happily at the action. Hiccup had told Eleanor how she had 'trained' Toothless ("For lack of a better word" Hiccup said sheepishly, rubbing Toothless's neck while he growled at her lightly) over a period of almost a month in the woods. Toothless. If anyone tried to harm the gentle and intelligent creature, Eleanor was sure she would give her own leg to save him. He was so sweet, and while he looked dangerous, Eleanor knew after about two minutes of being in his presence that he was no threat. How could Maraud not have been able to see that? Now that Eleanor really knew what Maraud had been through (more or less) could she defend him?

"No." Eleanor said finally. "I can't."

* * *

**I hope I wrote this in a believable way. I wanted a little bit of Maraud in Eleanor, because she is his mother, and I figured they would be SLIGHTLY the same in at least some respects. And, I also wanted a little bit of Toothless/Hiccup/Eleanor bonding time. I REALLY like Eleanor, she's one of my favorite characters in this story. Not much to say for this chapter. Next chapter a big plot thing happens. There are more guests coming, and Hiccup's position as Maraud's fiancee might get compromised. Anyways, thanks for all the support and follows and favorites and reviews. Y'all are awesome :)**


	23. Challenger A

**Chapter 23**

Eleanor and Hiccup sat next to each other at breakfast that morning, both tired and both exhilarated from their late night/early morning flight. Eleanor had had rushed back home and got straight to work, calming herself down and fixing her appearance. Hiccup didn't even worry about such things. She was already so used to that rushed type of routine that it was almost second nature for the Berkian to dash up to her room, in the shadows to make sure she wasn't spotted by any guards, and get ready for the day in under ten minutes. But Eleanor's first taboo flight had been yesterday (or that morning. It depended on how technically it was classified). And so, that morning was also her first cover up morning. And to her credit, Eleanor looked remarkably put together and graceful.

Hiccup smiled into a bite of her scrambled eggs as she thought of last night. It had gone so much better than she could have ever imagined! Toothless had liked Eleanor, and Hiccup's mum hadn't tried to run away, kill Toothless, or lock Hiccup in a dungeon. In fact, she did quite the opposite- she went on a ride with her and Toothless, went to great lengths to keep her new scaly friend a secret, and asked Hiccup to start calling her Mum. Hiccup's heart seemed to grow at the mere thought of her mum, who was probably the warmest and kindest woman Hiccup knew.

Hiccup had known many women back on Berk, but they were all Viking women, who did nothing but nag Hiccup all day: 'you _still_ haven't got yourself a husband?' 'What are you wearing?' 'Hiccup, why don't you launder your own clothes for once?' It all became very annoying very quickly. Berkian women- to their defense- were Viking women, through and through. And Hiccup- though she might like to be classified as such- was no real Viking woman. Viking, yes. Viking woman... no. And they were not the same thing.

Vikings were strong, brave, fearless. They laughed in the face of danger, and their best friends were the ghosts of death. Viking women, on the other hand, got married by thirteen, and then lived to to the household chores and birth children for their husbands. Hiccup's father would have none of that, and had refused to let Hiccup get married unless it was her own choice, to a man she picked. Well, Hiccup had chosen. Maraud Dunbrough. Even though he had endangered Toothless's life, and Hiccup didn't like him much at all anymore, she had to marry him. There was no choice.

Hiccup took another bite of her breakfast, getting a mouthful of sausage, and the worry she had successfully held at bay so far started to creep back into her mind. Toothless was with her, and that made her feel infinitely more safe and comfortable than she would have felt otherwise. But what about him? He was all alone in a dangerous, cold wood, with no one to be or play with, only getting a little bit of food every time Hiccup went and gave it to him, and people trying to kill him at any given moment. Just last night Eleanor had told Hiccup that while her husband was a kind and gentle soul, in the face of a large unnatural animal, he became a bit… eccentric was what Eleanor had said. Fergus was one of the nicest people Hiccup had met in a long time, and the idea that even he would want to harm Toothless should they meet made Hiccup think: should Toothless stay? Or should she grow up and let Toothless go, to be back on Berk, where he would be happy, healthy, and safe?

"So, Hiccup," Fergus said, and Hiccup looked over at him. "How are you liking Dunbrough so far?"

"It's great, King Fergus," Hiccup said earnestly, "I really like your tapestries, your shops have some of the most unique things I've ever seen, and your smithy is very well-stocked!" After thinking for a second, Hiccup added, "And your woods are beautiful,"

Fergus looked confused for a second, but Maraud spoke up,

"She calls the blacksmiths the smithy, Da,"

"Ah," Fergus looked unreasonably pleased that Maraud knew that. Hiccup couldn't help but wonder why. "I see you and Maraud have gotten the chance to speak with each other, at least a little,"

"Yes," Hiccup said, her tone polite, her voice even, her eyes hard. "Maraud has taken me into the woods a couple of times. It was very nice of him,"

"Yes! He is very nice!" Fergus nodded enthusiastically while bringing Maraud into a crushing side hug. Maraud didn't even seem to notice. He was only looking at Hiccup, and he had that determined look in his eyes. Hiccup shifted her eyes away after a second, too disgusted with him to even look at him. She looked at her mum instead, who was rolling her eyes discreetly at her husband's obliviousness. Hiccup smiled at her, and once Eleanor caught sight of Hiccup's smile, she grinned back.

Hiccup thought back to her own family. It had been so long since she had anyone to call a Mum. Hiccup could barely remember her- Valka was her name. She was the woman who had given birth to her. If Hiccup strained her mind, she could remember the feeling of comfort and warmth around her. Probably a hug. She could detect the faint smell of smoke and huckleberries. And sometimes, she could even remember a song. Never the words, just the tune. Just to feel close to her Valka, Hiccup would hum her song while working in the forge sometimes. Softly, so that Gobber wouldn't be able to hear her, but she hummed it nonetheless, so that she would never forget the tune.

But now, Hiccup had been given a new mum by the gods themselves. Hiccup would never forget the feelings of safety and love her real mum had given her. She wasn't sure if that was even _possible_. But Hiccup knew that it was time for her to start a new chapter in her life. One of acceptance and moving on. One that kept her and Toothless together from the beginning till the end. One that just so happened to start with her engagement to Maraud Dunbrough, the most selfish, stubborn, self-centered…!

Hiccup took a deep breath and started stabbing and then eating her eggs, taking out her feelings on Maraud on the eggs. Poor, innocent eggs. Still, Hiccup couldn't find it in her to feel bad for the food. Not when she was so upset with Maraud. Chewing angrily, Hiccup listened as Eleanor brought up the subject of Mordue to King Fergus.

"He's in the forest now, Fergus," Eleanor said, "Do we really want to put everyone in danger by proceeding with our plans?"

_What plans? _Hiccup couldn't help but to wonder as she swallowed some eggs. She popped a bite of sausage into her mouth and washed it down with sheep's milk.

"Ah, we'll be fine!" Fergus said, and the triplets all stopped eating to look at his face, completely focused on Eleanor. They exchanged glances, and one of them tugged on Maraud's shirt. They slipped under the table, and without even looking their direction, Maraud slipped a large platter of pastries down to them. It was times like that, when Maraud actually seemed to have a mind and a heart that Hiccup found it difficult to be angry with him and hate him.

"But Fergus," Eleanor argued, "If they're coming for a wedding, I doubt any of them would want to take part in the same bear hunt you always lead. They're getting fed up with it, Fergus!"

"Listen, Dear, as long as that mangy monster doesn't show his face in the kingdom, I promise I won't go after it. And since it hasn't appeared too close, we'll just have to continue, alright? We'll even be careful about it," Fergus assured his wife, and Hiccup found herself wishing that kind of relationship for her and Maraud. But for some reason, she didn't think it could happen between the two of them. But, Hiccup didn't dwell on that. She had far too many questions to start feeling pity for herself and her future loveless marriage.

"Wait what?" Hiccup asked. "Who are you talking about?"

"Some of the guests," Fergus answered vaguely. He didn't need to elaborate. Hiccup knew they were guests for her wedding. Her _wedding._ Hiccup blinked. She knew that she was coming to Dunbrough to wed Maraud, she just never thought it would be happening this quickly.

"I don't even know them," Hiccup muttered to herself, picking forlornly at the rest of her eggs. She had known a lot of things wouldn't be like Viking tradition at her wedding, and she had acted like she was fine with it. But she wasn't.

Hiccup was still a girl. She had always dreamed of marrying a man she loved, and planning their wedding to be perfect, down to the finest detail. It would have been a spring wedding, with flowers everywhere, and fire pits, and one of Astrid's disgusting concoctions, and Toothless there next to her. Her dress would have been soft white silk, but she would have worn her sword on her waist, like always. Her groom would have swept the hair out of her eyes and told her she looked beautiful before he kissed her, binding their marriage, and all the attending dragons would fire into the sky.

But, that wedding was not meant to be. She was marrying a boy she couldn't stand on a foreign island, and didn't know so much about her wedding so as to know who was coming. Hiccup took a deep breath and asked,

"Who are they?"

"There are three clans we invite to every major celebration," Eleanor started explaining, reaching over and tenderly holding Hiccup's hand. "The Macintosh, the McGuffin, and the Dingwall. Macintosh and Dingwall have young princes, and McGuffin has a fine young princess,"

Maraud snorted at the description of the princess, and Eleanor send him a glare.

"Alright," Hiccup nodded, and Eleanor squeezed her hand slightly. Hiccup smiled at the queen's comforting gesture. "So when will they come here?"

* * *

It seemed that the fact of all the other clans coming for Hiccup and Maraud's wedding had not been a surprise for anyone _except_ for Hiccup. That was to be expected, of course, but Hiccup still felt left out. After all, it was her wedding, her future life. She was pledging the rest of her life with Eleanor's boy, the least she should get to do would be planning their wedding. But the gods truly did seem to get amusement by making Hiccup's life difficult and painful.

When three ships appeared in the horizon in the afternoon, Hiccup was the first, and only, person at the docks. She wanted to meet them, to see who was going to witness the most sacred ceremony in her life.

The first ship to land was from the clan Macintosh. She was informed so by King Macintosh. Young Macintosh was a good-looking man. His black hair was wavy and looked as smooth as the waves his boat was bobbing on. His smile was cocky, but his eyes were bored, uninterested. And, for some reason, he was shirtless. There was blue paint all over his body. The only reason Hiccup could think for doing that was Dragon Racing, but these people didn't have dragons… so Hiccup was completely lost as to the purpose of the paint. No one else wore it. Just him and his father. Maybe it was just a Macintosh thing.

Not ten minutes after meeting the Macintosh, the McGuffin landed. King McGuffin was a large man, larger than Hiccup's own father. His eyes were squinted shut by all the muscle on his face, and his hair was straw-colored. His daughter came out behind him, and the first thing she did was flip her braided, golden hair behind one of her broad shoulders and glare at Hiccup. The princess clenched her fists and cracked her knuckles, looking directly at Hiccup. Hiccup chose to only speak to the princess's father.

They had quite a lovely conversation for a few minutes before the last ship came in. King Dingwall. He was… interesting to say the least. Hiccup was taller than him by at least two heads, if not more, but he acted as if he were as large and powerful as McGuffin. His son, Wee Dingwall, was a skinny-armed yet large-bellied boy with dull yellow hair which stuck up into the sky, as if he had been struck by lightning.

"Alright," Hiccup said, drawing the attention of everyone who just docked onto Dunbrough. "We should go back to the castle now. Everyone has been waiting for you to arrive for quite a while,"

"Yeah, but why?" Young Macintosh asked. Hiccup blinked and turned to him.

"You… don't know why you're here?" Hiccup was confused. Why didn't they know? And if they didn't know the purpose of the journey, why did they agree to come?

"Ah, no," Dingwall agreed. Princess McGuffin rolled her eyes and said a few words. Hiccup raised her eyebrow,

"Why does she know, but you guys don't?"

Everyone froze, even Princess McGuffin, and just stared at Hiccup for a second, and she squirmed uncomfortably under their gazes for a moment. Princess McGuffin uttered a few things, and Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Of course I understand you," she said. "Why do you ask?"

Princess McGuffin said a few more words before crossing her arms and frowning at Hiccup. Hiccup wasn't even sure what she had done to upset the Princess McGuffin, but she would have taken it back in an instant. Everyone except for Princess McGuffin continued staring at Hiccup. After a few more seconds Princess McGuffin growled under her breath and then started stomping away. Her father followed, quickly accompanied by everyone else.

When the party finally entered the mess hall, Hiccup was sure if looks could kill, the ones Princess McGuffin had been sending her way would have been the end of her half a mile ago.

"Hiccup," Eleanor stood. Then she greeted the guests, "Welcome, my Lords. I hope your trip here was easy?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," King Macintosh said pridefully.

"Yeah," King Dingwall shouldered past the other skinny king, "We're tough, you know?"

"Never mind that," King McGuffin said, practically stepping on the other two. "Where's the lucky lad?"

"Here," Maraud grumbled from his place at the table. All the kings stepped forward and started congratulating him, and offering him good luck, while the princes of their nations stayed by Hiccup, wondering what Maraud had won this time. Princess McGuffin stared at him for a second, and when Maraud met her gaze, she immediately looked away, cheeks flaming.

"Right," Eleanor said, her entire demeanor welcoming, "Let's eat! I've had the chefs prepare us a real delicacy: haggis!"

All the males rushed to sit down, but Princess McGuffin and Hiccup stayed behind. Hiccup cringed at the thought of eating sheep's _stomach _again, but Princess McGuffin's mind was not on food.

She looked down at the little girl who was going to marry Maraud. _Her_ Maraud. Yes, Princess McGuffin had rejected his marriage proposal a few months back, but she hadn't expected him to move on! She thought that what they had was real love, and she just wanted him to prove it, to fight for her. But, he hadn't. He had instead opted to ask the little Viking vixen to marry him. And she had accepted. But why would he even want to marry her?

She was pretty, Princess McGuffin would give the girl that. But any other redeeming qualities? She wasn't strong, she wasn't poised, she wasn't even Scottish! Maraud deserved so much better!

Princess McGuffin uttered a bunch of jibberish, and everyone seated at the table watched as Hiccup blinked a few times before stuttering,

"E-e-excuse me? Please, if I've done anything to offend y-"

Maraud furrowed his brows. Hiccup could understand Princess McGuffin? How did she never cease to amaze and surprise him (sometimes in the worst ways)? Princess McGuffin mumbled louder, but still, no one but Hiccup could understand her. Maraud moved his icy eyes to rest on Hiccup's hardening face. She pursed her lips, and looked like she was trying to not say anything. She failed.

"What did you call me?" Hiccup exclaimed, sounding outraged, and Maraud wished Princess McGuffin wasn't a girl so that he could punch her in the face.

Maraud knew he was being hypocritical, what with all the things he had called Hiccup a few days ago, but he had gotten over that. It had taken him a few hours after he woke up to realize the errors of his ways. What Hiccup had been trying to show him was the ultimate form of what he valued about all else. She was trying to show him _true_ freedom: flight. And he in turn had tried to kill it.

After that realization, Maraud had tried to go to Hiccup's recovery room and talk to Hiccup about it, but she had just gotten angry at him. It was probably too soon for her. After all, he had just tried to kill her pet. If anyone tried to kill Angus and then extend a hand of friendship not forty-eight hours later, Maraud was sure he would have gotten angry, too. All Maraud could do now was keep trying to get on Hiccup's good side.

Princess McGuffin spoke again, and Hiccup felt like she had been given a blow to the stomach. Did the princess really just say that?

"Are you serious?" Hiccup didn't sneer. Never in her life had Hiccup ever sneered. She left that type of thing to Snotlout, Ruff, and Tuff. But, Hiccup was sure that she had sneered just then. "Fine. Challenge me. It won't matter. I'm a Viking. A little tip for the future: never challenge a Viking. Because even if we lose, we win. No matter what happens, _I'm_ marrying the prince of Dunbrough, not you. "

* * *

**So, short. I know. I spent a lot of time typing out the prompts for the rest of the story, and editing a few plot things. Anyway, this was honestly all I had planned for this chapter. Not a lot action-wise, but plot-wise, this is a major twist, I guess. It's important, anyhow. Maraud. I tried to add a little bit of his perspective this chapter. I hope I can show how he slowly gets Hiccup and Toothless to forgive him. All in all, not much to say for this chapter. Next time, a bit of invention/forge Hiccup, and more Toothless. Hope it'll make up for the short update this time. I think half of the length of this chapter is this author's note, lol. **

**Have any of you read my other story, She Was Never Gone For Good? I was thinking of making a sequel, this time the majority would be in Hiccup's perspective, and why she loves Jack. Good idea? Or should I leave it? Anyway, this story's got 94 favorites, 108 follows, and more than 120 reviews! I'm feeling the love, so thanks y'all :)**


	24. Part of Her Bow-dy

**Chapter 24**

Hiccup sat fuming in her bed that night. After that brat, the 'Princess' McGuffin, had basically called her a terrible person, and had insulted her heritage and culture, and practically her very _existence, _Hiccup had excused herself from the table. She wasn't sure why, but no one could understand 'Princess' McGuffin. No one, that is, except for her. And the more Hiccup heard, the more she questioned the true lineage of that… that…!

Hiccup lay back in her bead and took a deep calming breath. There was no way Hiccup could allow that mountain of a girl disturb her. No, Hiccup was better than the McGuffin. That was why Maraud was going to marry _her, _and not the other 'girl'.

It wasn't as if Hiccup was extremely fond of Maraud. It was more like the boy was a symbol, a source of pride. If Hiccup married him, she would be doing something for her tribe. Something _important._ And if she was important to Berk, there was no way she could be… Useless. Not anymore. Plus, Hiccup didn't give up everything in her life just to return home, head bowed in shame, pride left somewhere in the ocean. No, Hiccup was a Haddock; she would not lose. She didn't sacrifice her happiness, Toothless's freedom, and Eleanor's time for nothing. There was _no way_ Hiccup could allow the mountain of a girl to beat her in a challenge. Whatever a challenge was.

Back on Berk, challenges for a groom consisted of the potential brides each choosing a weapon of their liking and fighting against the other hopeful brides in a series of battles. It was a tournament of sorts, with lots of food, betting, and excitement. The brides were encouraged not to maim, and if anyone was killed, the killer would be banished immediately. But, the risk was worth it to be married. The winner of the challenge would be given gifts from the losing girls' families, and the respect of the entire village, at least until the next tournament, or (back when they still happened) the next dragon raid. That was just how it was on Berk.

Based off of Hiccup's experience thus far, a challenge on Dunbrough was bound to be much different. Probably less dangerous, life-threatening, or adrenalizing. Completely Hiccup's style.

"Hiccup?" Hiccup's mum knocked. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes," Hiccup sighed. "Come in, please,"

"How are you doing, Dear?" Her mum asked her, sitting down by Hiccup's stump. Hiccup's prosthetic was unattached and flung on the other side of the room. Of course, she would have to put it back on when she went to see Toothless, but sometimes Hiccup's limb needed a break from the constant pain and discomfort, if only for a few moments. Sometimes Hiccup compared her impairment to her life. Both were painful and slightly strange to look at (or hear about) at first. But, both made Hiccup who she was, and Hiccup had learned to adapt to both, and make the best of both situations. Hiccup had accepted her life, and her handicap, and she was fine with both. Completely accepting and at ease with the facts.

But how _was_ she doing? That 'princess' had called her some of the worst names Hiccup had ever been called, she couldn't see Toothless nearly as much as she was used to, she was engaged to a boy she was sure she could never love, and she missed her friends and family like she didn't know she could. And Hiccup was doing fine. Hiccup was always doing fine. She had to be fine, as both a Viking and a princess, there was no way she couldn't be. She couldn't afford to be anything else. If she said one word that even suggested otherwise, who knew what the maids would start whispering about her? But then again, Hiccup hadn't had a mum in a long time, and she yearned to tell the matronly woman in front of her everything. Hiccup realized with a start that she really didn't want to lie to Eleanor, either.

"What's a challenge?" Hiccup asked instead of answering her mum's question.

"Well, since Princess-"

"Yeah," Hiccup snorted, "'Princess,'"

Eleanor sighed and shook her head. Maraud doing that was bad enough, but Hiccup, too? On the note of Hiccup and Princess McGuffin…

"What exactly did she say to you, if you don't mind me asking? What made you so upset?"

Hiccup bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling for a while. Eleanor was just about to give up and answer Hiccup's question about what a challenge was, but Hiccup started speaking.

"At first, she was just rude. She called me a pipsqueak, and hardly fit to rule a sheep pen, let alone a kingdom. But I didn't really care. I'm used to hearing things like that,"

_You are?_ Eleanor couldn't help but to wonder. _But… who says these things to you?_ It couldn't have been anyone in Berk. Eleanor had been there, and everyone had treated Hiccup with such respect and acceptance. Maybe Hiccup's father had taken her to see neighboring kingdoms, to learn diplomacy? But what subject or noble in their right mind would openly insult the only daughter of such a fearsome man as Stoic the Vast? Eleanor was shaken from her thoughts as Hiccup continued speaking.

"But then she started saying that I didn't deserve Maraud, which I _know_ isn't true. And then she called me a sly vixen, but still, I ignored her. But by the time we had gotten to the mess hall, she had already called me an uncultured swine, and barbaric brute, and I was about to lose it. Then, she crossed the line, and I snapped. She said that the only reason I was here, trying to get Maraud to marry me, was because my old kingdom was trying to get rid of me.

"Even if I overreacted, I'm not sorry. I do apologize to you, though, Mum. I'm sorry you had to see me like that,"

Eleanor blinked and took a second to process what Hiccup had told her. Eleanor herself had never actually understood the McGuffin princess, but the girl's tone had always been so polite, Eleanor had just assumed that she was paying her compliments, and Eleanor would hum noncommitically and say a small 'thank you.' It was hard to imagine the princess in any other light. But, from how upset Hiccup had gotten, Princess McGuffin had actually said those things. Or at least, Hiccup truly believed that the McGuffin had.

"Mum," Hiccup cleared her throat before looking out her windows at the rising moon. "I need to leave soon, to see-" Hiccup didn't dare say his name, something Eleanor herself had advised, should any tiny ears be listening. "Um… could you tell me what a challenge is?"

"Oh!" Hiccup's mum said, "Yes, of course." And so Eleanor started to explain, and Hiccup paid as close attention as she could, trying not to get too distracted by thoughts of meeting up with Toothless.

Basically, since it was a woman challenging another woman for his hand, the prince being fought over (Maraud) would choose a skill to test the two potential brides in. Whoever performed better in the task would become his future wife. And, knowing Maraud, he wouldn't choose anything traditional, like sewing or baking. He would probably ask to see them compete with archery. But, since Maraud hadn't officially made a decision, the girls could prepare for whatever they thought he would choose until he publically announced his decision of the challenge.

Were it a male who challenged Maraud for Hiccup's hand, Hiccup would get to choose the skill, and the men would have to compete to win her hand.

Hiccup thought for a while on that, and Eleanor took the girl's silence as an invitation to exit the room.

Archery. Hiccup had seen it done before, of course. Back when dragon raids were still a problem, the smaller, or more clumsy Vikings were usually taught how to accurately use one. It was a win-win-lose situation. The small Viking would help slay dragons, and the other villagers didn't have to constantly look out for the clumsy Viking. However, a large number of dragons would then, the death of dragons was a good thing, but the very thought of killing a dragon caused Hiccup to physically become sick to her stomach.

Hiccup, of course, was never taught how to wield one of those. She was expected to either throw a hammer, or stay in the smithy. And there was no way she could throw a hammer that was easily twice her own weight. So, in the smithy she stayed. Trapped.

Long story short: Hiccup never learned how to notch or aim or fire a bow and arrow. But now she had to if she wanted to stop Maraud from marrying that McGuffin… bitch!

But, where could she learn and practice without tipping the 'princess' off about anything? With Toothless, of course.

* * *

Hiccup grabbed the usual amount of seafood she took for Toothless, and then quickly ran to the smithy, as well. She grabbed a quiver of arrows and a bow, and then started her nightly trek to meet with Toothless.

As she walked under the tree tops and over the rock slabs, Hiccup thought of archery. She had seen Maraud practicing every day. Hiccup had never exactly wanted to go ask to join him. She knew that she wasn't the best person with weapons. She was better just trying to keep the peace. Instead, Hiccup had seen him, observed him for a moment, and then gone around the plaza, the castle, or around the walls, just exploring.

She had seen Maraud's stance, and was pretty sure that she could be able to replicate exactly what he did. She just had to figure out a system, make a habit, and then work on her aim.

Hiccup walked into the circle of stones, and set the bow down.

"Toothless! I'm here! And I brought cod!"

Toothless bounded out of the shadows and sat up on his hind legs, teeth retracted, and tongue sticking out of his smiling mouth. Hiccup smiled back at him and tipped the basket over, dumping a large portion of the still slimy fish onto the ground. Toothless dove into the pile, and Hiccup took a minute to just watch Toothless, smiling at his ever-messy table manners, and the gleam of happiness in his aqua eyes because of her. Hiccup was sure she had a certain shine in her eyes because of the sight of Toothless, too.

When he was done feasting, he stepped back, and Hiccup moved forward and started scratching around Toothless's body. Toothless purred in pleasure, and Hiccup started scratching faster, and all around his body, careful not to get to that one spot underneath Toothless's jaw that made him fall instantly asleep. Hiccup just wanted to touch Toothless, to be close to him, to show him that she still cared about him.

After a couple of minutes of scratching around Toothless's saddle-less body, Hiccup slowed and eventually stopped before allowing Toothless to lick her face.

"Aw, Toothless!" Hiccup mock-complained, "You _know_ that doesn't wash out!"

Hiccup then moved to grab the bow and arrows. She really needed to start practicing. Hiccup threw the quiver over her shoulder first, something she knew she should do. Then she picked up the bow and just examined it for a while. Unfortunately, it was a right-handed bow, but Hiccup would just have to make due.

Hiccup walked to a large stone that the circle around her was made out of, and picked up a small rock from the ground. She spent a couple of minutes drawing a target onto the large rock and then stepped back a few feet and got into the stance she had seen Maraud take when he was shooting his arrows. Hiccup took in a deep breath and notched her arrow. She pulled back and was surprised to feel muscles that she hadn't even known that she had being used. Hiccup let out her breath and aimed at the target. She took in another breath and let go.

The arrow flew somewhere into the woods, and Hiccup was not in the mood to go after it.

She heard Toothless snorting from somewhere behind her, and Hiccup turned around.

"Oh yeah? We'll see how much you're laughing when I win the competition,"

Toothless moved away from the empty basket of fish and moved toward Hiccup before dropping onto his hind legs, using his tail to keep him balanced and sitting upright. Hiccup looked at him for a second, but said,

"Alright, I guess you can watch,"

Hiccup took her stance again, and could feel Toothless watching her every move. She took a deep breath, pulled the notched the arrow and pulled the string back. Let out the breath and aimed the arrow. Took in another deep breath and let the arrow loose. It hit the far end of the stone next to the one Hiccup was trying to hit, and Hiccup let her arms hang loose.

"Do you know what I'm doing wrong?" Hiccup asked Toothless defeatedly.

Toothless nodded his head and pointed his head at the bow in Hiccup's arms, then looked at his belly.

Normally, Hiccup could understand just about everything that Toothless said, but that time, Hiccup was completely lost. She had no clue what Toothless was trying to say.

"What?" she asked, and Toothless rolled his eyes. He touched his nose to Hiccup's bow, and then her stomach, and then urged Hiccup's hand to touch his own belly.

Hiccup smiled at its warmth. That was where Toothless kept his fire. It never went out, because the day Hiccup woke up next to a cold Toothless would be the day Toothless died. She wasn't completely sure about all dragons, but Hiccup knew that Night Furies kept their fires running at all times. It was his life, and his weapon, and it was a part of him.

Hiccup blinked. Was that what Toothless was trying to tell her?

Toothless had apparently decided that he had given Hiccup enough time to try to figure it out on her own. He grabbed the bow and stuck one end in the ground. He made sure Hiccup was watching before he let his teeth out and bit the bow exactly in the middle. He took in Hiccup's horrified face, and decided that it was unimportant. He retracted his teeth and gently moved Hiccup's arm in between the two halves of the broken bow. Toothless took the top part of the bow and put it on top of Hiccup's arm, and that was when she knew what Toothless was trying to say.

"You want the bow to be a part of me?"

Pleased, Toothless let go of the bow and crooned at Hiccup. Hiccup smiled at him and moved to hug him.

"Thanks for helping me, Sweetie,"

Toothless snorted, and looked away, vibration flaps pressed along his neck.

"No, of course I knew that you'd help me," Hiccup laughed. "Now stop pouting, and let me get your saddle on you,"

Toothless immediately perked up, and ran to get his saddle. Hiccup laughed before going to follow him.

* * *

Hiccup slowly walked to the smithy. Last night had been amazing. She and Toothless had flown faster than the two of them had ever gone while they were together. And it had exhilarated Hiccup more than usual.

She and Toothless had gone flying for well over an hour, and by the time Hiccup had gotten back home, it was so late it was almost early. So, Hiccup had rushed to her room and stolen a few hours of sleep before the maid woke her up. Those precious hours were ones Hiccup treasured.

Maudy woke her up a quarter of an hour after the sun rose. Hiccup had groaned, but had gotten up anyway. After a breakfast of smiles aimed at Eleanor and discretely ignoring Maraud, Hiccup set off for the smithy. On the walk there, designs and ideas for a new type of bow, one that connected to her body, flew through her mind.

After she entered the smithy and pulled on an apron, Hiccup pulled out a charcoal stick and her little book. Design after design filled her pages until she finalized her favorite design. Hiccup put a weight on the page to keep the book on that page and started measuring an already existing bow. She wrote the measurements and estimated the sizes she would need for her own bow.

McFeely walked in, but Hiccup did her best to stay out of his way as she picked out some nickel and put it into the forge, and then picked up a long spring. While the nickel was heating, Hiccup trimmed a couple of small bits of spring out of the long coil. She weighed some smaller nuts, and then pulled the nickel out of the fire before it started melting. She started hammering it into the shape and size that she needed, and then cooled it in the water bucket. And then she really started to get to work.

Two hours after she entered the forge, Hiccup held her own special bow. Actually, it was on her right forearm. It looked like a long piece of leather covering her arm, but it was a compacted bow.

If Hiccup pushed her arm forward, like she was punching something, then the front of the bow would spring out, like a long talon, and if she brought her arm sharply back, as if she were elbowing someone behind her, the back of the bow would pop out. Then, Hiccup would have to raise her arm to her side, elbow bent like an L, and sharply rotate her elbow so that her forearm became parallel with the ground. The bow would turn so that it was upright, like Hiccup's body. Then Hiccup would flick the top of the bow, and the string of the bow would unfurl quickly and, since the end of it had a piece of iron on it, would move towards the end of the bow, where the magnet was attached.

Hiccup had tested the string multiple times, even dry notching the arrow a few times, and the string stayed in place. For one day's work, Hiccup was proud of her work. She knew the bow was rusty, but that was as good as it was going to get.

A maid was sent to fetch Hiccup for lunch, And Hiccup followed her back to the castle. On the way there, Hiccup just so happened to walk past Maraud. As per usual, he was practicing his archery, but this time, Hiccup paid special attention to his stance.

Completely turned to the side, feet shoulder-width apart, shoulders straight and square. Hiccup imprinted the image in her head. If she wanted to win, she had to shoot good. Not just good, but amazing. That other princess probably already knew how to accurately shoot an arrow, and Hiccup was just starting to learn how. The only way to be a good archer, Hiccup knew, was to have a good stance. If having a good stance meant imprinting an image of Maraud into her mind, then so be it. As long as she won.

Hiccup sat down at the dining hall's table, but when the food came out, Hiccup found that she was too excited about her new bow and nervous about the competition to eat anything.

* * *

That night, Hiccup grabbed fish for Toothless and her bow, hardly able to wait before showing him her creation. She knew he would be proud of her, but Hiccup just wanted to make sure.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called out. "Hey, Sweetie, look what I got!"

She dumped the fish on the ground and watched with acquired tolerance as he slurped up his raw fish in a couple of big mouthfuls. Hiccup attached her bow to her arm, and threw the quiver of arrows over her shoulder.

She picked up a rock and carved a fresh target on a large stone. A few pebbles fell on her head, and Hiccup noticed that she was practicing on the large stone she and Toothless had flown into on one of their first days there on Dunbrough. She ignored the pebbles that fell into her head and kept drawing the target. Unlike the target she drew the day before, Hiccup actually colored in the middle, so that if she made it, she could clearly see.

Hiccup walked a few feet away, and Toothless finally finished eating. As Hiccup took special care to take the stance that Maraud had, Toothless made his way to sit next to her. She breathed in a deep breath and notched her arrow. She let out a breath and aimed. Another breath in and she let the arrow loose. Again, it flew somewhere in the woods, and Hiccup's right arm was getting tired.

Toothless started laughing from next to her, and Hiccup half-heartedly glared at him,

"What? It's hard, okay?"

Toothless snorted and took the stance he usually did when he was firing on land. Hiccup rolled her eyes,

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Offspring-of-lighting-and-death-itself, no need to be a show off. Not everyone doesn't ever miss,"

Toothless snorted and moved closer to her, putting his nose against her bow, then down at her feet, and quickly shook his head.

"What do you mean it's wrong? I saw Maraud standing like this when he was shooting arrows, and even though I don't like him, he's a great archer,"

Toothless hissed at Maraud's name, but used his tail to flick Hiccup's bow.

"Well, I guess he has the type I brought yesterday. But what other way is there to stand when you're firing arrows, anyway?"

Toothless started maneuvering Hiccup around, and she ended up sitting down in the forest, with one of her feet flat on the ground, and the other sitting Indian style. Hiccup's right arm rested on the knee which bent in the air, and the bow was on the side of her knee which kept it farther from her face. Hiccup took a deep breath and notched the bow. She let out a breath and aimed, but Toothless stopped her there. He helped her aim better, by bringing her sight more to the left, and then let her go again. Hiccup took another breath and let the arrow go.

It didn't hit the bull's-eye, but she came close. Unbelievably close. Hiccup turned excitedly to Toothless and laughed.

"Oh gods, Toothless, did you see that?!"

Toothless closed his eyes and warbled smugly.

"Do you… do you think you could coach me?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless opened one of his eyes and watched her, inviting her to elaborate.

"I mean, could you teach me how to aim better? With the same accuracy as you have?"

Toothless snorted, and Hiccup amended,

"Alright, close to the same accuracy you have,"

Toothless jumped to his feet and warbled at her. Hiccup jumped up surprisingly easily from her position on the ground and jumped around, cheering. Suddenly, Toothless snapped at her, and Hiccup stopped. Then, she got to work.

* * *

If she hadn't experienced it herself, Hiccup wouldn't have believed that Toothless could be such a ruthless teacher. He hadn't given her one break. He kept making her stand up, then fall back into position, and notch, aim, and fire her arrow before doing the drill again. She had done it about sixty times before Toothless went with her to collect all the arrows. And that was her break. After gathering the arrows and putting them back into the quiver, Toothless made her restart her drill, forcing her to do ten pushups if she dropped into the wrong position.

It had taken two hours after the initial started hour for Hiccup to convince Toothless that she should go to bed. Unfortunately, by the time he agreed with her, Hiccup was too tired to walk back to the castle. So, she took off the bow and quiver from her back (with large protest from her aching arms and back) before she crawled into Toothless's permanently warm embrace.

She snuggled into his wings and fell into the deepest, most peaceful sleep she had had since she had gotten to Dunbrough. She felt Toothless around her, and bathed in the sense of nostalgia from the simple days, back when she was the village screw-up, and she had no responsibilities other than the ones for Toothless. She moved closer to Toothless, and cuddled with the everlasting sense of safety he poured over her.

* * *

**Four chapters until the actual competition, I'm thinking. Sorry about the crappy chapter, though. It's been a while since I've updated, and I figured I'd just quickly edit it, not like I usually do, so if you find any typos or grammar errors, I will probably get to fixing it. Btw, I won't be in the country for the last couple of weeks of June, and most of July, so there'll be a hiatus then. Don't worry, though, I'll try to leave off at the most cliff-hangery place I can find before I have to stop writing. Also, thanks for all y'alls support and love, I always look forward to reviews and favorites and follows. Till next time (when Eleanor sees again how close Hiccup and Toothless are, and Maraud realizes something about himself) :)**


	25. Realizations

**Chapter 25**

Everyone from the castle was worriedly scrambling all over the plaza. Well, almost everyone. The triplets were nowhere to be found, but all the people knew that the girls were probably in the castle somewhere, thinking up a new sneaky plan to steal pastries from Maudy. However, no one cared much at the moment where the triplets were. No. What had the entire castle staff and the visiting nobility in a frenzy was the fact that Princess Hiccup was missing.

The moment it was discovered by her maid that the young royal Viking wasn't in her room, the search had begun. It had started as a small affair- a few guards searching around the castle. And when the guards couldn't find her, they employed the help of a few maids, who then pleaded with the cooks for for their help, and them with the launder maids, and so on until Queen Eleanor had realized that all her staff was running around the castle, and yet not one of them was doing their job.

She had confronted them about their laziness, the rest of the Scottish royals creeping up behind her. The maid had stammered the situation to the queen, but before Eleanor had a chance to tell everyone to let her seek out Hiccup by herself, her husband had jumped in and organized a very _dis_-organized search party.

The search had been going on for well over four hours, and Eleanor was beginning to lose patience with the incompetence oafs surrounding her. She sighed as she glanced discreetly to the walls. Those walls which separated her castle and the inner plaza from the rest of Eleanor's subjects. It wasn't safe enough to let them in. Not safe enough for the nobility, anyway. That was what her husband always said, every time Eleanor had urged him to let them tear down the walls.

Eleanor shook the thought away. Her main concern was Hiccup. It wasn't that Eleanor was concerned about the girl's safety. Because she wasn't. Not at the moment. There was no way Hiccup could have been missing for that long and not have been with her dragon. No, she wasn't concerned about Hiccup being injured, because there was no way Hiccup could be hurt while her dragon there to keep her safe. Eleanor, in fact, was worried that Fergus's search party would prove to be more effective than she had anticipated. She was worried that they would find Hiccup, with her dragon. And she was worried that they would kill first and ask questions later.

Eleanor silently sighed again in frustration and surveyed the area. If no one was looking, Eleanor could sneak out to the woods and grab Hiccup silently before she and Toothless were discovered. All she needed to do was make sure that no one was looking her way. She looked around as discreetly as she could. She just acted as though she were checking the area for Hiccup.

Fergus was arguing with McGuffin about something, and Dingwall and Macintosh were laughing at the two of them. Wee Dingwall was standing next to the wall Young Macintosh was leaning against. The two of them were talking, but only to each other, and were not paying attention to Eleanor. Some of the guards were taking a short break, and they weren't paying too much attention to anything, let alone the woods Hiccup was in.

Eleanor turned her head, looking for any prying eyes, and she happened to catch her son looking longingly at the forest. Maraud, Eleanor noticed as she saw him looking around in much the same way she was doing at the moment, had been acting peculiarly almost all morning.

He would glance anxiously over his shoulder before staring out at the forest. A dark look would cross his features, and then he would scowl at the ground before going back to whatever he had originally been doing. After a few moments, he would glance over his shoulder again, and the cycle would repeat.

No one was entirely sure what had Maraud doing such strange things, but Eleanor could pinpoint the exact moment he had started acting that way. It was directly after Hiccup had been announced missing…

Eleanor felt a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. She quickly collected her thoughts before turning around to berate whoever had the gall to do such a thing to a queen. Eleanor took in a deep breath, but when she locked eyes with her son's icy orbs, she let it loose.

"You know where to go, right Mum?" Maraud mumbled quietly, glancing discreetly around him and his mother. Eleanor blinked before bringing her eyebrows to the center of her forehead.

"Go?"

"To find Hiccup!" Maraud hissed impatiently. "You know, don't you?"

"How do you-"

"I'll make sure no one goes looking for you, too," Maraud quietly promised, cutting Eleanor off. "Just hurry! No one's looking right now,"

He gently yet impatiently shoved his mother towards the woods, and Eleanor hurried to the cover the trees provided before she let the questions swirl in her mind. How had Maraud known about Hiccup being in the forest? If he knew where Hiccup was, why didn't he just go and retrieve her himself? Why did he even care about finding Hiccup, when he hadn't seemed to care much about her a few days ago? And how had he known that she would know where Hiccup was?

Eleanor quickened her pace while slowing her thoughts. She took it one step at a time. She wasn't like Hiccup, who could think of twenty problems at the same moment, and solve them simultaneously in a few seconds. No. Eleanor needed time for each question individually.

How had Maraud known about Hiccup being in the forest? Of course he had to have heard of her interest in the forest when she asked Fergus all sorts of questions about bears and Mordue at the dinner table, but how could Maraud have been sure that Hiccup was in the forest? Had he ever been in the forest with Hiccup before?

Eleanor carefully stepped across a slippery rock before picking up her brisk pace towards Toothless and Hiccup's hiding space. Toothless… Toothless! That was it! Hiccup had told Eleanor about Maraud's first ride on Toothless, and how ungrateful the little wench had been. That must have been how Maraud had known!

He knew that Hiccup was in the forest, and he knew the exact location as well. No one knew the woods better than her son. And the only reason Maraud hadn't gone to retrieve Hiccup himself was…? Because of his last encounter with Hiccup's dragon. Already the dangerous animal wasn't fond of Maraud, and for all his faults, Eleanor could be proud to say that her son was no massive fool. A slight simpleton? Of course. He was still a boy.

Speaking of _boy, _why was he so worried about his fiancée? Last Eleanor had checked with Maraud, all princesses were whiny, bratty, and useless. He had walked away from her with a red ear and a head full of angry words, but if there was anyone who wouldn't learn anything from one of Eleanor's scoldings, it would be Maraud. So, that begged the question: why did he care about Hiccup's well-being at all?

She thought back to the small looks her son had recently been giving the Viking girl when he was certain that no one was looking. Too bad for him that his mother had eyes on the back of her head. She had also seen the way that he blushed lightly whenever Hiccup was laughing, and she noticed how Maraud tried to show off his skills more often whenever Hiccup happened to walk by. And that, paired with the way he was genuinely concerned for Hiccup at her disappearance…

Eleanor smiled to herself as she avoided stepping in a pile of… she wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she would rather not step in. She knew that Maraud would grow up someday. And, she had also known that it would be Hiccup to make her son mature. And Hiccup had started to do just that. She had gotten Maraud to like him. It might not have been much maturing, but Eleanor would take what she could get from her brat son.

But… how had Maraud known that Eleanor would know where Hiccup was?

There was no time for Eleanor to ponder on that question, however, because she was already striding into the ancient arc of stones.

The first thing that Eleanor saw was a large, black figure. It was more like a black blob, and Eleanor almost ran back to the castle, thinking it was a bear. Then, the figure shifted, and Eleanor could see the outline of its wings. Not 'its.' His. Toothless's wings.

Eleanor immediately felt more at ease and walked confidently forward. She knelt by Toothless's head, and inspected the girl wrapped in his protective grasp.

Even though she had already known that Hiccup was safe with Toothless, it was a breath of fresh air for Eleanor to see the fact for herself. The queen stood back up, back straight. She sight in front of her warmed her heart. Hiccup was wrapped in the dragon's fearsome embrace, and Toothless was wide awake and alert for any signs of danger which might threaten his human.

It was at that moment that Eleanor realized the depth of emotion and trust the two beings in front of her actually put into each other. Hiccup trusted Toothless with her life- she had slept the entire night, Eleanor was sure, in the middle of the woods, wrapped in Toothless's wings. She knew somehow that, no matter what danger happened upon the two of them, Toothless would protect her. And Toothless, he _cared. _He cared enough to stay awake and still, even thought Eleanor figured that he was dying to get up and stretch his body. But still, he stilled his muscles and made Hiccup comfortable in his arms.

_This, _Eleanor realized, _this is what Maraud needs to be for Hiccup. Is he even capable of this kind of emotion? _

Toothless turned his large head to turn and look at her. His eyes were full of a warm kind of feeling. Eyes, the windows to the soul. Toothless had a soul, that Eleanor had been sure of ever since the flight she had shared with him and Hiccup. And right at that moment, all Eleanor could see in his eyes was love.

_Is he capable of love?_ Eleanor couldn't help but to compare her son to the dragon in front of her. Both were strong. Both were lethal, if need be. Both loved freedom. But only one knew the true taste of it. Only one loved another being, which was not of their own flesh, to give his life for her. Only one knew how to love as deeply as that.

Toothless blinked at the intense look on Eleanor's face, and crooned happily. Eleanor wasn't sure what compelled her to be so spontaneous, but she reached out a vulnerable hand and placed it on Toothless's flat forehead. He was surprisingly soft, and comfortably warm. Yet, Eleanor could feel the tough leather-like scales which protected his insides from most any kind of attack. Gentle and yet rough. Maraud knew how to be brash and abrasive, but gentle…?

Eleanor cast all thoughts of her son out of her mind for the moment. She turned to Toothless and smiled.

"You've done a wonderful job protecting her. And for that, I thank you," Eleanor could feel the vibrations on her hand from Toothless's content humming. "But, it's late. Hiccup can't sleep this long again, or both she and you would be in danger,"

Eleanor wasn't sure how much of what she said actually translated into the dragon's brain, but at her words of warning for Hiccup's safety, Toothless stiffened up and his pupils tightened, giving him an almost rogue look. If Eleanor hadn't known that Toothless was harmless, she would have run at the fierce look in his eyes.

Toothless spread his wings with a small shudder, and Hiccup groaned.

"Already?"

The dragon growled, and Hiccup rolled begrudgingly out of his embrace. Eleanor couldn't help but to notice the strange contraption on Hiccup's right arm, and the pile of low-quality arrows in a pile by Toothless's hind legs.

"Oh," Hiccup said, with a yawn. "Good morning, Mum,"

The arrows and strange contraption were forgotten as Eleanor rounded on Hiccup.

"Come, come," Eleanor ushered, "We have to hurry,"

Hiccup turned to look at Toothless, and then back at Eleanor,

"Why?" Hiccup asked groggily. "What did I miss?"

"I'll explain everything on the way back to the castle,"

And the two women were off in the woods. Even thought Eleanor couldn't see him, she could feel Toothless's eyes following them, making sure that they were safe on their journey back. And she started to realize why Hiccup loved the dragon so much.

* * *

After her mum had forced Hiccup to clean up for the day and eat breakfast, and the two royal women had fed excuse after excuse to the worried men and women who had been looking for her all day, Hiccup finally relaxed.

After Hiccup lay stretched out on her bed, it had taken her all of ten minutes to groan in frustration. She was bored.

There was no way she could risk going out to see Toothless, not so early in the day. And it wasn't like the maids had ever let her help them with their chores. Eleanor wasn't teaching lessons as she was entertaining the guests, and trying to figure out how to understand what 'Princess' McGuffin said. So, there was only one option left for the Viking princess. The forge.

Hiccup walked into the smithy and immediately did what she usually did. She walked over and grabbed an apron, made sure that her hair was tied tightly enough that her hair wouldn't burn off, and asked McFeely if she could help him with anything. As usual, he just grunted that she should stay out of his way. At least he had stopped saying that little girls like her shouldn't be in the forge.

Hiccup just stood by a wooden bench for a moment, basking in the environment of the forge. She missed the comfort of the familiar sights, the high temperatures, and the musky scents. She missed being able to use her mind and stop her brain from feeling numb. Hiccup let out a small smile as she pulled out her sketch pad and started drawing out rough blurbs all the ideas swirling through her mind.

For a few minutes, she just drew, wondering which idea she should start building. She flipped back to the page she started on that day. Should she try to invent a suit of armor for Toothless? But it would be so heavy, and it would waste so much metal, and people would get curious about what she was building, and for what. Also, Toothless's hide was already impenetrable for the most part. Next.

Hiccup kept flipping through the book. Fire proof clothing? There were no fire problems in Dunbrough. Better systems for bathing? That would be a large project which would take up too much time, and people could bathe in the multiple streams and rivers around the area anyway. An absorbent devise to make mopping easier for the maids? That would just be boring.

Finally, Hiccup found the one she wanted to work on. She started, and kept working, even when McFeely left for the night, telling her not to mess with his forge. The sun was low in the sky, and all the wood looked like amber by the time Hiccup had finished with a prototype of a new prosthetic. She had two settings for it- one for land, which had more of a stable and flat bottom (for the less than stable ground surfaces she was sure to walk on), and one for the air, which was like a hook (so that the slightest movement that she made would cause some sort of movement from Toothless's tail). She was really excited about the new setting for the sky. She knew that Toothless used to be a much better flier than he was after she shot him down. And it had been Hiccup's goal for months to get Toothless back to that expert level of maneuvering in the air. The cool, unrestricting air. Hiccup sighed and started taking off her current prosthetic.

Maraud was leaning against the doorframe in the entrance of the blacksmith's. He hadn't originally meant to stay and watch Hiccup for so long (about… two hours), but he had gotten caught up in watching her. At first, he had just been on his way to the stables. In fact, as Maraud looked in his strangely tired arms, he found that he was still holding Angus's saddle. But, it wasn't his fault that Hiccup completely captivated him.

He had walked by earlier and glanced in. Hiccup had been in there, and Maraud only wanted to make sure that she was okay, that she wasn't too tired, or anything like that. Then, he saw how hard she had been working- enough to actually work up a sweat!- and he couldn't stop watching her. Whatever she was working on must have been really important, if she was willing to work for so long without any breaks, and if she still looked so happy while she was heating and molding and measuring. She had finally finished the… whatever it was, and she looked so proud of it.

Hiccup started to take off her prosthetic, and a small voice in the back of Maraud's mind told him to look away, and for a moment, he was really tempted to listen to that voice. But then he remembered that her stump wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. He had been around his father's missing leg since he was a wee lad, and he had already seen Hiccup's leg, or lack thereof, after he had shot her. So, Maraud kept watching.

She took off her prosthetic, and Maraud almost ran in to help her if she fell, but she stayed steady on her right leg. She quickly attached her new invention, (_A new prosthetic, _Maraud realized) and stood up on it. She tested a couple of things, like how she walked, jumped, and got up off the floor while wearing it. She mumbled a few things while scribbling notes into her notebook after each test. Then she did the tests again. She finally took off the prototype and put on her old one. Then she started to clean up.

It was then that Maraud realized that she was done. She would be walking out and seeing him there, in the doorway of the blacksmiths, watching her. And that wouldn't help her already horrible view of him. He started walking to the stables, but his mind couldn't wander too far from Hiccup.

First of all, she was gorgeous. She was as tall as his mum, and for a woman, that was plenty tall. Hopefully she didn't get to be as tall as her blonde friends, who were easily as tall as Maraud was. Then, there was her face. She had bright, intelligent green eyes, and a small, plump mouth. Her body was thin and lithe, but still filled out to perfection. But it wasn't just her looks which Maraud was attracted to.

The Viking princess was determined. He had just witnessed that as he saw her work tirelessly on her new leg, and on how firm she stood in her engagement to him, even though anyone would have understood if she called it off. She was feisty, and she stood up for what she believed in. She had proved both of those facts when she took an arrow for her dragon and yelled at him for trying to kill the monster. She was passionate. She loved with the same fire that Maraud was sure her dragon possessed naturally, and she showed that love and inner warmth to everyone.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was determined, feisty, stood up for what she believed in, was passionate, and she hated him. What else was there to say?

Maraud silently smiled on his way to the stables. He really liked that girl.

* * *

**Again, I gave up editing halfway through. Whoops! As for the wait: it's not like this chapter was hard, but school sure as Hel was. Just to clarify, Hiccup's invention is not a cross-bow. I actually made up whatever arrow thing she made. I'm almost 100% positive that what Hiccup's using to shoot arrows does not exist. To help y'all visualize it, I might draw it, but we'll see. Anyways, sorry about the long wait. Not much I could do about it though, sorry. Thanks for the favorites, follows, and I really miss those reviews! The more reviews there are, the more motivated I am to push out the next chapter faster. You don't have to review if you don't want to, but I do appreciate them. Also, while you're waiting for me to update this story, check out my others. I might be biased, but I think they're pretty dang good. Next chapter: I don't know if I should tell you cuz this author's note is already really long :)**


	26. The Dungeon Talk

**Chapter 26**

Maraud needed… help.

It was painful for him to admit, even to himself, but it was true. He needed to talk to Hiccup, but every time he made the slightest motion of stepping in her general direction, Hiccup would find a way to excuse herself and run off to the forge, and McFeely would never allow Maraud in there unless he needed something repaired or made. And while Maraud really wanted to talk to Hiccup, he wouldn't break his bow, especially since Hiccup could just leave before he spoke with her, and then Maraud would be forced to deal with McFeely on his own.

No. Maraud couldn't do it on his own. He needed help. And the people best suited for the type of assistance he needed were his sisters.

"Helen," Maraud hissed from around a corner. He needed to make sure no one saw him speaking seriously with his sisters, or they would suspect that the siblings were up to something. "Kitchen, ten minutes."

Maraud walked down there, not even bothering to check if Helen had heard his message. He knew that she had. He forced all the maids to leave the kitchen, telling them to go do laundry, started pacing. How would he explain what he wanted them to do? Would they even do it for him? How many weeks of desserts would he have to give up? At the thought, Maraud started looking for a stuffed pastry, one of Maudy's specialties. It was a blissful two minutes of distraction.

"We're here," Hilda called out, and Maraud turned to face the three girls he watched grow into probably the world's cutest spy/thieves. They were formed in a triangle, with Hilda in the middle. Helen and Hilary had their arms crossed, and Hilda's fists were resting on her hips. Maraud knew it was just an act to seem tough. Usually he would play along with them, but he was too desperate at that moment to spend much time acting intimidated.

"I need you to get me time,"

"We're good, Maraud, but not _that_ good," Hilary giggled. Helen hit Hilary on the shoulder, but Maraud could see that all of his sisters were laughing at him.

"No, but I know that Hiccup likes you and listens to you," Maraud said. This caught the triplets's attention.

"Yeah!" Helen said excitedly, her tough façade temporarily forgotten. "She's really nice and funny, and she's not a _boy, _like you!"

Maraud ignored her comment and bent down to get face to face with his sisters,

"Well, I… like her, too," Maraud rushed, trying his best to not let his face turn red. Judging by the giggles his sisters let loose, Maraud concluded that he had failed. "I just need two hours with her,"

"But she's mad at you," Hilda said uncertainly.

"And I just need two hours to apologize," Maraud promised. He hoped his sisters would agree soon. He was already practically begging. The triplets exchanged glances, and turned into a huddle. Even though he was only one foot away from them at most, Maraud couldn't discern a single word of what they were saying. It was like he was talking to 'Princess' McGuffin.

Finally, Helen turned around, and Hilda and Hilary followed suit.

"We'll do it," she said. Before any of them said anything else, Maraud scooped all the girls into his arms and gave them a tight hug. He knew that he would be able to count on them! He even told them so. They couldn't even imagine how happy those three words made him! He could explain everything to Hiccup, she wouldn't hate him anymore- she might even like him- and all would be right again in the world! Maraud set the girls down, and Hilary stepped forward,

"But we're going to need your dessert for a month,"

Maraud sighed. It wasn't like the price was much of a surprise.

* * *

Maraud spent that entire day in a bad and impatient mood. No matter how much he had asked his sisters, they wouldn't specify when he would get his time with Hiccup. They assured him it would be before the end of the day, but dinner was only a few hours away already, and Maraud had only seen Hiccup for a total of about thirty seconds the entire day.

"It's time," Hilda whispered from next to Maraud. He knew better than to look down at her. "Go to the cellar. Helen will tell you which cell to wait in,"

With a surprising lack of caution, Maraud rushed to the dungeon, and, as promised by Hilda, Helen was there to tell Maraud to go to the last cell on the right. In other words, the cell furthest from the door.

Maraud practically ran there, and paced inside the rusting iron bar cell as he waited for his sisters to lead the beautiful Viking into the cell as well.

"Be quiet!" Hilary hissed from somewhere by the door, and Maraud ceased his movements immediately. Almost a whole two seconds later, Hiccup was led into the dungeon, and guided down the stairs by Hilda and Helen.

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked curiously, not an ounce of fear in her voice.

"It's a surprise," Hilda said sweetly, steering Hiccup away from the railing-less side of the stairs.

"You're going to meet someone," Helen hinted, and Maraud wanted to tell her to be quiet. She didn't know just how smart Hiccup actually was.

"Really?" Maraud couldn't tell whether Hiccup sounded excited or cautious. She kept walking, and Maraud realized that she was blindfolded. Of course. The only way his sisters thought that she would agree to meet with him was if she didn't know it was him she was meeting.

Hiccup's metal prosthetic met with the damp wood of the dungeon's floors, and her steps faltered.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"To meet a friend," Helen answered sweetly, but Hiccup wasn't as easily persuaded as most people Maraud's sisters had met with.

"Yes, but who? And where are we? Why is it so cold? And why do I have to be blind..fol..ded…" With the sound of horrified realization in her voice, Hiccup ripped off her blindfold just in time for her to be trapped inside of a cell with Maraud. Maraud mentally wiped the metaphorical sweat off his brow. It was a good thing Hiccup trusted the triplets so much, otherwise she would have figured out she was being led to him at the top of the stairs. However, he was just as surprised as Hiccup was that his sisters had locked them in a cell. Alone. In the dark. When no one knew where they were. Oh, Kings have mercy on him.

"Hilary! Helen! Hilda!" Hiccup called out, shaking the bars, but nothing much happened under her thin arms.

"Hiccup, liste-" Maraud started, but Hiccup ignored him. She inspected the door of the cell the two of them were in. She took a few steps back and then ran forward. Maraud reached forward to pull her back so that she wouldn't run into the iron bars, but Hiccup surprised him. Again.

She jumped up at the last second and latched herself onto the rusted iron bars of the cell. She went to the pins holding the door to the rest of the cell and started pulling. When she slipped and fell, Maraud tried again.

"Hiccup-"

But Hiccup just jumped up again. And when it didn't work for the second time, she looked around the cell. Probably for something to pry the door open with.

"Calm down, Hiccup," Maraud sighed as he tried to ignore the stinging feeling in his chest from seeing the girl he was to marry trying so hard to get away from him. "If you've been worried about me telling anyone about your dragon," Hiccup turned at this point and stared at him, absolutely no expression on her face. "Don't. I've thought your situation over, and decided that I won't tell anyone about it,"

"You've… _thought it over?_" Hiccup repeated. Sweat broke out on the back of Maraud's neck. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly got the feeling that he had said something wrong. He explained,

"Yes. You've had to give up your home, friends, and family to come here and marry me. I might as well let you keep your pet," A knife of regret pushed itself into Maraud's chest the second after he finished speaking. That was _not_ what he had meant to say, and that was _not_ why he hadn't told anyone about the dragon.

He did it because he wanted to keep it safe and happy. It wasn't like he cared about the reptile, no. The monster absolutely terrified and repulsed him. But, Maraud cared about Hiccup. And if she cared about the dragon, then Maraud would make sure it was left alone. Maraud wasn't sure why he was working so unbelievably hard just to make some princess happy. But then Maraud realized that it wasn't just some random princess. It was Hiccup, and Maraud would go to great lengths just to have her flash a smile in his direction.

"Fine," Hiccup scoffed. "Thank you for telling me that you have _thoroughly _thought it over and have _finally _decided to _not kill_ the most important _member of my family._ Will you let me leave now?" Hiccup turned to face the red-stained bars, and Maraud fought the urge to pull his hair out.

Why was this so difficult!? Why didn't she understand? He liked her, more than he should have! Normally, Maraud would have grabbed the girl's shoulders, spun her around, and said it straight to her face. But, for the first time in what seemed like forever, Maraud was shy. His heart was beating hard enough to be noticed in the silence of the dungeons, and Maraud was desperate to not let the sound be heard by Hiccup. Instead of confessing his confusing and, quite frankly, _annoying _emotions, he stuttered,

"Wait! One more thing,"

Hiccup begrudgingly turned around to face him, her eyes filled with loathing. Maraud hid a wince at the look pierced into his soul. There was no way he was going to confess the most panic-inducing secret he had in front of her right then, when she practically hated him.

"I don't want McGuffin to win," Maraud improvised a subject. He just wanted to talk with her a little longer. Hopefully he wouldn't say anything to get her upset again.

"Why?" Hiccup asked. Maraud was relieved to hear her voice filled with curiosity, not animosity. "She's a Scottish princess. She shares your culture, your traditions. Don't you want a wife like that?"

"She wouldn't be giving anything up, and she already has enough. You're doing this for your tribe, and I respect that. The loyalty you have to your people? I admire that in you. Plus, I can't understand a word she says," _And it doesn't help that she already rejected me a few months ago. _Maraud decided to keep that specific reason to himself. He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that if he said it, Hiccup would be upset with him again. "So, I'm going to cheat,"

Hiccup looked at him carefully for a moment, as if deciding whether he was lying or not. "What?" she asked. "What do you mean 'cheat?'"

Maraud pushed down the cheer bubbling up in his throat. She was going to let him help her! He finally showed her that he was trustworthy, and she had decided to count on him!

"Which weapon are you most comfortable using?" Maraud asked eagerly, stepping closer to Hiccup. "Or what game are you most likely to win?" Maraud looked at her expectantly, but Hiccup met his gaze, and green became the new color of determination in Maraud's mind.

"No." Her voice was firm. "You're not doing that. Just choose whatever you would have chosen if you didn't know me. If you want to help me, wait a week before you make your public decision."

Before Maraud had the chance to tell Hiccup that she could count on him, his da threw the door open and stomped down the stairs. Maraud was confused. His father wouldn't be that angry, even if he did learn that his son and future daughter-in-law were locked in a cell together and alone in the dark dungeon. Maraud's da would most likely just laugh about it and clap them both on the shoulder.

As Fergus got closer, Maraud realized that the large man was dripping with a sticky substance. Maraud knew, even in the darkness of the dungeon, that the liquid was not water, and Maraud wondered if he even wanted to know what it was. Sometimes his sisters scared him.

"Da?" Maraud said, incredulous. "What happened to you?"

Instead of answering, the king grabbed two of the bars the cell door Hiccup and Maraud were in and pulled. In three seconds, the door was ripped from its hinges, and Hiccup and Maraud free.

Maraud turned his head to look at Hiccup, to see how impressed she was of her future father-in-law's strength. To her credit, Hiccup wasn't as shocked as most highland girls would be. However, to be fair, Hiccup was a Viking, and her father was huge. After a second of thought, Maraud realized that he wouldn't be surprised if Hiccup's father had done the exact same thing in front of her multiple times in the past.

The Bear King led the teenagers out of the dungeon in a single file line, Hiccup in front of Maraud. Maraud was fine with the order while they marched down the halls on flat ground, but he spent most of his time on the stairs trying not to stare at hiccup's legs. Or a little higher.

* * *

**So, I felt bad about making y'all wait so long for the chapter last time, so I made this one really fast. Next chapter, it's like a filler chapter which kind of tells about the routine Hiccup sets up for herself before the competition, but it's important because it starts developing an important relationship and shows some more Toothless/Hiccup. Favorite, follow, and review, cuz those things make me happy :)**


	27. A Day In The Life

**Chapter 27**

Hiccup woke up with a groan. She thought back to half a year ago, when she had still had to sneak out to see Toothless. Back then, she had to stay out most of the night to be with Toothless, and then stayed in the forge for a while longer, to do whatever repairs to his fin or saddle to let him fly again. She had training all day, and then she also had her job at the forge. She remembered feeling emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted. She probably got, on average, less than three hours of sleep a night.

And yet, she still missed those days. Back in those days, Hiccup was left mainly to herself, but now that she was in Dunbrough, being received as the future bride of their prince, and the eventual future queen, she was constantly being surrounded by people. There was no way for her to escape and recharge by herself. Her days weren't officially scheduled, but they might as well have been.

Hiccup planned for the competition to occur in a week, if her 'talk' with Maraud had any use at all. Even though she would have loved to spend all day practicing her archery, that was not a realistic expectation.

She would usually wake up with darkness all around her, Toothless nudging her face to pester her into consciousness. That's when she starts her archery. He shows her the targets and then lets her try to hit them, occasionally hitting her body into the proper stance with his tail. He never said it, but Hiccup knew that Toothless was determined to train her well enough to have accuracy as lethal as a Night Fury. He would keep her going for hours, with minimal five minute breaks. It was hard work, but Hiccup loved any quality time she could get with Toothless.

By the time it was light out, Hiccup would already be back at the Dunbrough castle. The only signs of her night with Toothless would be the bags under her eyes and the sweat covering her body. From her early days of hiding Toothless on Berk, Hiccup had gotten used to hiding the trembling of her exhausted body, so that wasn't noticeable to anyone.

After working hard all morning and eating a full breakfast, there would be nothing Hiccup would like to do more than to go up to her bedroom and rest until lunch, but she knew she could never do that. For one, people would definitely notice if the energetic Viking princess started to feel tired all the time, and they would wonder why. If they wondered why, they would confront her to get answers. And when she didn't give them any, they would follow her to Toothless. And that was something Hiccup couldn't allow. Ever. For another thing, there were just too many ideas running around Hiccup head for her to sit still in her room. Sketches and blueprints and designs and possible building materials swirled through her head non-stop until she forced her body to the forge, where she would turn her thoughts into tangible items.

Her newest inspiration was an idea for a new prosthetic. She would start building it, and try not to miss Toothless too much when she turned to show him a new piece she had just finished forging. He had always been her biggest supporter, and though dragon's usually weren't welcomed in the forge back on Berk, Hiccup forced Gobber to make an exception for Toothless. If they were still on Berk, Hiccup would have shown him the multiple prototypes for her new prosthetic, and told him all about her ideas for his new saddle. Because, if she had a new prosthetic, obviously he needed a new stirrup. And if Hiccup was going to go through the trouble of making a new stirrup, why not also try to make a newer, better saddle? But before she could even come up with a rough idea for his new saddle, she would need to make sure that the prosthetic worked seamlessly.

After hours of working and sweating in the forge, a servant would be sent to fetch her for lunch. It would take them a good ten minutes to pry Hiccup away from her work, and when they finally succeeded, they would have to carry the exhausted royal back to the Mess Hall. After a few days of this routine, the servant would either bring a friend to help carry her, or would roll a wheelbarrow along behind them. It was a bit embarrassing, but Hiccup would usually be too tired to care. And if Hiccup was conscious enough to have coherent thoughts, then she would just laugh off the blush on her cheeks from being wheeled around the plaza.

After lunch, she would usually sneak out of the walls and spend time with the commoners who lived there. It was easy enough for Hiccup to find the village, but it took a couple of days for the commoners to open up and let her see their homes and experience how they lived. In the village, Hiccup made quite a few friends there. The seamstress, Ver, was a loud woman, with quick, snappy comments about anything and everything. Her and her husband, Hank, along with their daughter, Janet, had been the first to accept Hiccup, and it was through them that Hiccup made most of her village friends. And though Hiccup trusted her village friends a lot, she never even hinted about her Viking life.

They barely accepted her as a foreign Viking royal. She doubted they would keep their mouths shut about something as large and foreign as dragons. If there was one thing she had learned about the village people, it was that they loved to gossip and pass along knowledge. Hiccup was sure that if they started talking about her, especially so close to the castle, the castle officials would look into the story.

Other people who loved stories were Maraud's three little sisters: Hilda, Helen, and Hilary. When Hiccup came back into the walls, she would seek the three little girls out and play with them. Back on Berk, before Toothless became her friend, the only people to be nice to her were Gobber and the tribe children. Hiccup would spend hours a day playing with them. It made her even more isolated from the rest of the village, but it caused Hiccup to have excellent skills with children.

With the triplets, Hiccup would usually tell a quick story, and the four girls would spend close to half an hour together, acting it out. Hiccup always paid special attention to creating four characters, and making three of them beautiful princesses. Hiccup would usually play a witch or an ogre of some kind. One time, just to mix things up a little, Hiccup cast herself as an evil queen.

If Hiccup couldn't find the girls (because sometimes they were setting up pranks for their father, or Maudy) then Hiccup would make her way to Eleanor. There was something about the regal woman's presence which calmed Hiccup, and let her relax from her seemingly endless day. Sometimes, Eleanor would try to teach Hiccup a lesson, but Hiccup would be too exhausted to truly pay attention. Eleanor would recognize that fact and end up just talking to Hiccup about her day, and the two women just got to know each other a bit better.

After dinner, Hiccup would spend close to half an hour in her room before she dared to go sneak some fish out for Toothless. She would quickly trek through the woods, remembering the sting of the claws the bear which had sliced through her stomach. She would sit quietly as Toothless scarfed down his meal. Then, the real fun would start.

She would spend the rest of the night with Toothless and the sky. She could be content just cruising, and letting all the warm air pockets do all the work of keeping the two of them aloft, but she knew that Toothless was tired. His wings would be tucked away all day, and the night time was the only chance he got to spread them. So, instead of flying smoothly through the sky, she would urge Toothless to splice through the air like a battleaxe.

The two of them would become one in the air, reacting to the slightest movement the other made. It had gotten to the point where Hiccup didn't even notice when she moved her left leg anymore, it was an involuntary reflex, as easy for Hiccup as breathing, or the beating of her heart. She and Toothless would swirl and swoop and dive and move through the trees. Each night, they would try trickier and more daring flying maneuvers, and each night, Hiccup could practically feel the pride radiating off of Toothless. She would constantly have to ask Toothless for new ideas, more risky ideas, and he would never fail to supply. Night by night, the two were getting ever closer to achieving the level of aerial perfection which Toothless used to possess when he could fly on his own.

Her days were busy, and Hiccup didn't get to talk to too many people for too long, but Hiccup embraced the solitude. For practically her whole life, Hiccup had been alone, and had fended for herself. It was more natural to keep her thoughts and emotions to herself. She usually had a better idea of what to do when she was alone, anyway. The exception to those rules was Toothless. She could tell him everything- what she wanted, what she felt, what she thought. There were no barriers between her and her Sweetie.

He looked like a pet- an animal for which she cared for and felt responsibility for- but he was so much more than that. She cared for him, and she knew that he cared for her. He trusted her, and she him. They respected each other, and looked out for each other, and trained each other.

He wasn't her pet, he was her equal, her partner. At times, he almost seemed like her brother, they were that close. She could look in his eyes and know every single thing he was feeling, and he didn't have to flick a wing. She just knew, because she knew _him_. She loved him. And she knew that there was nothing anyone (even selfish, bratty Scottish princes) or anything (like dragons the size of a mountain, or demon bears with glowing red eyes) could do to him. Not as long as she still lived.

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**This is kind of like a filler chapter, but it explains how busy and tired Hiccup is. I got lazy and didn't correct any of this, so I apologize for the typos and gramatical errors. This is a first draft, and I might go back and correct it later, but probably not any time soon. I hope y'all see the foreshadowing I stuck in here. This chapter was... kind of interesting, I guess. I liked writing it, anyhow. It's basically just getting into the character of my fem!Hiccup. Ya know, hard working, diligent, unselfish, smart, etc. Next chapter is the archery competition, and... stuff happens. Important stuff. Anyways, 140 reviews, so happy! I'm hoping for three reviews of this chapter, btw, but if I don't get them, oh well. 141 followers, and a whole lotta favorites. It's like, every time I check my e-mail, there's like 13 "_ is now following HTTYF" or "_ has favorited HTTYF" and it's great! Thanks for all the support, y'all :)**


	28. First Competition, First Confrontation

**Chapter 28**

Toothless settled into a comfortable seated position at his vantage point near the edge of the clearing Hiccup was competing in. When Hiccup had agreed to let him watch her competition, she had been very worried about him, so Toothless had consented to staying as far from the Scots as he could while still being able to watch the competition. While it wouldn't be nearly as fun as scaring the cluck out of the Scots, Toothless contented himself with watching Hiccup surprise everyone with her skill in archery.

It had been a tough week for Hiccup. She never said it, but Toothless could tell from the way she held her head in her hands and closed her eyes when she thought he wasn't paying attention. It was kind of stupid of her to think that there was ever a moment when he didn't pay attention to her. Half the time she was like a new hatchling which needed to be protected, and the other half she was his equal, his partner, probably Toothless's favorite sentient being on the planet. There was no way Toothless wouldn't be able to tell when she was pushing herself too far. It wasn't like he had helped with her problem, though.

Toothless whined slightly as he thought of the brutal hours of work he put her through- aiming training in the mornings with her strange but more effective than usual bow- but he couldn't find it in himself to feel too bad about it. Hiccup had wanted to do it. She said that she needed to be the best 'archer' to make sure she was going to marry Maraud. And no matter how much Toothless had tried to convince her that no one on Berk thought her to be Useless, Hiccup just wouldn't listen. She wanted what she always wanted: to try her hardest and be the best. And Toothless could proudly say that she had flawless aim, even after only a week of training. He was confident that if she kept practicing for a few more months, maybe a year, she would be like the Night Fury of the land. She would never miss, and be admired by all.

Toothless watched with rapt attention as Hiccup's competitor stepped up, a bow in her hands. Hiccup had told him earlier that she was competing against another girl, but as Toothless watched the mountain of flesh and muscle get into position, Toothless found himself severely doubting that to be a fact.

Her (assuming that the competitor was, in fact, a female) stance was strange. She stood sideways, and on both feet. She tried to hold the bow the same way Hiccup had tried to on her first day practicing archery. Sure, it could work, but it was a horribly unreliable stance. There was no way to feel the weapon, no way to personally guide each strike to its target. Why was that strange unpredictable stance the default for all these people? Toothless rolled his eyes. Humans.

The girl pulled back the string and let the arrow loose after a moment. She moved on to the next target, and then the next. Toothless had to admit that she wasn't horrible. Two of her targets had arrows in the solid red center, and the third had an arrow lodged in the outside ring of red.

Toothless snorted. He could say that the Scottish princess was decent at the sport, by she was by no means as good as Hiccup. He imagined what punishment he would have given Hiccup if she had been so off-target. At her shiver from the sidelines, Toothless could tell that Hiccup was thinking about the same thing.

His human stepped forward, and Toothless sat up straighter. A couple of people tried to hand her the same type of bow that the Scottish princess had used, but Hiccup politely declined, probably telling them that she had brought her own bow with her. Toothless looked at her, unimpressed, and slightly twitched his nose to the side. If he had been there, he would have burned those stupid bent sticks to ashes.

They were pathetic excuses for bows, nothing like the one on Hiccup's arm. Hiccup's bow was much better. It let her _feel_ the arrow, and its path. It made the weapon become a part of Hiccup, just like Toothless's fire was a part of him. Hiccup had actually made the bow on her arm by hand. She knew where every single indent and scratch was. Hiccup was almost as in tuned with the bow as she was with her own emotions.

Stoic the Vast's daughter stood up proudly before rolling back her right arm sleeve and un-collapsing her special bow. The red-headed Scottish prince sat forward in his seat and trained his eyes entirely on Hiccup. Toothless had to fight the urge to jump on the cocky Dunbrough again. Hiccup wouldn't like that. And for every inch Toothless disliked the Dunbrough prince, he loved Hiccup.

She crouched low on the ground, completely facing the target. Hiccup used one of her raised knees to steady her arm and notched an arrow as she breathed in. She let out the breath and aimed. She breathed in again and fired.

Toothless warbled happily as he saw her follow his instructions. He didn't really need to look to see if the arrow hit home or not, but he did, just to make sure. She hit it exactly in the middle, just like Toothless had taught her. A warmth expanded in Toothless's chest as he watched his best friend use the skills he had taught her. He was just so proud of her! And, he was also extremely pleased that her arrow went straight through the other girl's arrow to get to the center. Hiccup might not have been one, but Toothless was a big show off.

The dragon enthusiastically observed the competition (mostly cheering at how well Hiccup was doing). Toothless was so fixed on watching Hiccup that he failed to notice the shadows moving behind him, or the glowing red eyes of a monster. But the creature behind him didn't attack right away. No. Even if he was a monster, sometimes he recognized real danger when he saw it. Mordue needed to wait until the dragon was even more distracted. He melted back into the shadows and waited for the right chance to pounce on the thirty foot long reptile with dagger-like teeth and claws sharpened by the rocks of the land. Mordue warily watched the dragon's face. The bear needed blood, but it wouldn't help if he only spilled his own. The dragon needed to be more distracted. Much more distracted.

Hiccup was doing great. She had already hit the bull's-eye on the first two targets, and, as Toothless had observed before, she had split the other girl's first arrow in half. Hiccup was now on her last target. If she got better than hitting the outside ring, then she would- undoubtedly- have won Maraud's hand. While Toothless didn't particularly care for the prize, he did have a Viking-sized ego, and there was no way he could handle Hiccup losing to the likes of the Scottish behemoth.

Toothless watched as Hiccup breathed in and notched her arrow. She slowly released her breath, but as she aimed, Toothless found that he couldn't release the breath he was holding. She started breathing out…

Hiccup looked towards Toothless the second before she let go of her final arrow, and Toothless smiled toothlessly. He wasn't sure exactly why, but every time he did, Hiccup's mood would instantly brighten, and she would relax. So, Toothless tried to do it as often as possible.

At first, Hiccup smiled back, but then her eyes looked beyond him and her expression changed to one of horror. She shifted her bow, and Toothless could tell that she would hit the tree behind him. But why? Toothless was confused. His human wasn't stupid. Not by a long shot. And the amount which she cared about winning was almost unhealthy. So why would she purposefully try to lose? Why, when she was so skilled at the contest's required skillset, and when she had already gotten so far into it?

Something wet landed on Toothless's shoulder, and he shifted his head to see what had splattered there. It wasn't clear like water, and it didn't smell as sweet as rainwater. In fact, it looked like froth: white with lots of bubbles in it. And it smelled like rotting meat and rancid blood. It smelled like the Red Death's maw. The Red Death… it couldn't have come from something as terrible as that, could it have?

Toothless turned and looked behind himself. It wasn't the Red Death, but it was a monster! It was the bear! The one which didn't smell natural, and had almost killed Hiccup! Toothless let out a cry of shock and tried to move away, but he was too close to the humans to make much noise. If he was discovered by the humans, then Hiccup would be in danger, and there was no way Toothless could risk Hiccup's safety for any reason whatsoever.

Before the beast could lay a single paw on Toothless's scrambling form, an arrow squelched into the bear's eye. Toothless was more relieved than ever that he had insisted on making her so accurate from such a great distance away.

At the bear's distraction, Toothless took his opportunity and started to speed away, back to the circle of stones. But something stopped him. The people who were watching Hiccup and ranking her- they were yelling at her!

Toothless stilled and all thoughts but one left his mind. _Hiccup._

How dare they yell at her! She just saved their lives from a monster which would surely kill them all at any chance it got, and what do they do to repay her? They yell at her, just like the Berkians used to do!

Toothless saw red, but knew that Hiccup wouldn't like him charging out into the opening, where people could see him. He let out a growl, warning them. If they continued doing what they were, they were going to be in for a world of fear. Because if there was one thing Night Furies knew how to do, it would be terrifying lesser beings.

That was why Hiccup kept coming back to him when she first saw him. He had scared her, yes. But she had seen past that, into his very soul. She had been on par with him from the start. But Toothless could bet his remaining tail fin that not one other human being on the planet would have done the same thing. That was why Hiccup was the only one who could control his flight with him. She was the only one worthy.

Toothless continued growling, louder and louder. The more he thought about his human, and how incredible she was, and how she never got what she deserved from the stupid people she surrounded herself with, the angrier he got. Why could the other humans never give her a break? Hardship after hardship she had to endure, and no one was making it easier for her.

Toothless watched through squinted eyes as Hiccup stopped trying to explain why she didn't shoot at the target, and looked around, worried. Toothless knew that she would be the first to hear him. She kept looking around, jumping to see over some of the taller men, but she couldn't find Toothless. Well, he had just moved quite a ways from the bear, and he was quite excellent at hiding in plain sight.

She started to shove her way through the crowd, and Toothless couldn't help but to notice the difference between the congregated group Hiccup was easily wading through, and the angry sea of bodies on Berk, which Hiccup would have drowned in by now.

The people kept pulling at her, trying to make her stay, and Toothless saw the Dunbrough prince make his way to the crowd out of the corner of his eye. Toothless couldn't watch anymore. If he did, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to restrain himself from running out there, grabbing Hiccup, and flying her far, far away. So, Toothless turned his head, and surveyed the forest, trying to calm down.

The trees were a cool green, like Hiccup's on a lazy summer day, and the air was pleasantly moist because of the fertility of the ground and moss. Birds sung in the air and animals skittered across the ground. Everything was serene and beautiful. His growling actually almost died down. Almost.

It took a few seconds for him to see, but when he did, his growling started up again tenfold. The bear. The demon bear. It was moving- towards Hiccup!

A feeling started bubbling in Toothless's chest- not unlike when he saw Hiccup falling towards the flames of the Red Death. Duty. Devotion. Desperation. He needed to make sure that the demon bear stayed away from Hiccup, or die trying.

Toothless continued growling as he rushed to the bear, and Hiccup continued slowly making her way through the people whirlpooling around her.

Before he looked at the red headed Scottish prince, Toothless honestly thought that the he and Hiccup were the only ones smart enough to figure out that something bad was going to happen. However, for all his faults, the prince of Dunbrough was no fool. He, too, had heard Toothless's growling. Hiccup's potential fiancée (the word made Toothless cringe and shiver in disgust) stood up, tense muscles and a focused gaze. He glanced around himself, alert, and weary. There was no way the prince knew what was going on, but the little fool went looking for his arrows anyway.

Toothless ignored his observations of the royal Scot as he slammed into the bear. It was like one mass of pure muscle hitting another powerful force covered in fur, hardened skin, and broken shards of weapons.

The bear turned menacingly towards Toothless, but the dragon held his ground. The bear rose to its two feet and roared in Toothless's face. Toothless screeched right back, and fanned out his wings, trying to seem bigger. If it was intimidated, the monster didn't show it. Instead, it just redirected its focus on the people, who had screamed at their cries to display power.

Toothless chanced glancing to the left, and noticed that amid the people who were worriedly looking at the woods, Hiccup was still trying to get through them and to the woods. He could clearly see the worried and stubborn look on her face. She was on a mission. And that mission was to make sure that he was ok. However, the people surrounding Hiccup were holding her back. Toothless wasn't sure if he was irritated that people were handling his human with such little care, or if he was grateful that they were making sure that she was safe.

Toothless saw Mordue charging towards the clearing and tackled it again. This time, the bear swatted a large paw at him. Toothless dodged and head butted the cursed animal in front of him. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he could practically smell the curse on it. Toothless growled fiercely. There was no reasoning with this animal- it was cursed to be evil, and there was no changing it. He had to keep Hiccup away from this bear.

Toothless hit it again and bit into it, trying to damage it enough to convince it to retreat. The bear shook Toothless off, but charged at him again, and the two tumbled into the clearing. Toothless felt the bear's claws rip through his rough hide, but didn't pay much attention to the fire-like feeling spreading through his front right arm. He was on his feet the second the two of them stopped rolling, and surveyed the clearing.

It took Toothless about half of a second to realize that Hiccup had made it out of the pool of people, and decided that he was irritated with them. They had one job! Keep Hiccup safe! And yet, Hiccup was free from them and making her way towards him and the cursed bear.

A large red-headed man with a crooked nose and a peg-leg stood up from his seat by Hiccup's mum and called out,

"Gather up yer arms, boys! Kill the monsters!"

Toothless briefly wondered if the man had included him in the 'monsters.' Hiccup answered that question when she cried out,

"No!"

Toothless was slammed to the ground as the bear stood over him. Seemingly out of nowhere, Hiccup rushed in front of him and notched an arrow. She let it loose, and it hit the bear in the eye again. It roared in pain, and Toothless took the opportunity to throw Hiccup on his back.

There was no way his human would face that monster on her own. They had faced their first flights together, the Red Death together, and this engagement together. Now was not the time to stop doing things as a team. They were partners, and partners looked out for each other.

Toothless could feel Hiccup notch another arrow, but before she let it loose, another arrow sunk into the bear's neck. Toothless didn't even have to turn his head to see the red-headed prince notching another arrow. The bear turned towards the boy who wanted to marry Hiccup, but his human let loose another arrow and Toothless streaked in and slammed into the bear again. Toothless ran a few more steps, to keep distance between the bear and Hiccup, and took a couple of seconds to ensure Hiccup was doing alright. Instead of answering, Hiccup cried out and told him to turn around.

Toothless whirled around to face the monster again, which was charging at him with bared fangs and a frothy mouth. He roared at the bear, but before the bear could do anything to respond, a couple of spears pierced its flesh. Someone called,

"Young Macintosh! Wee Dingwall, get out of the way!"

Hiccup loosed another few arrows, and Toothless bit into the bear's neck. He couldn't properly wrestle with it, because Hiccup might get hurt. And that was one thing Toothless was never going to be willing to risk. Toothless could feel Hiccup reach for another arrow.

"Swina bqllr!"

Toothelss saw her bow go flying off to the side, and realized that she had run out of arrows. Now the only way she could help was by getting up close and personal and using the short sword she usually kept strapped at her waist. And it wasn't like Toothless was going to keep her from fighting a battle she felt she needed to fight. That was not what equals did. Equals didn't order the other one around. They encouraged and enhanced one another.

Toothless streaked to the bear again, panting heavily. In the air, he could keep going in battles for hours. He was a dragon, the best flier of them all. Of course he could. But land… land was a different story. His legs weren't made for running for long periods of time. They were mainly to help brace himself for any crash landings, or scooping fish out of the ocean. Running and crashing into the bear for this long was putting serious amount of strain on Toothless's body, and he knew that Hiccup could tell.

"Don't worry, Sweetie," Hiccup panted, "We can do this,"

Toothless bit the bear on the face and scratched at its chest. The bear raised its paw as if to strike Toothless, but Hiccup quickly unconnected her left prosthetic from the tailfin mechanism and swung around in the saddle. She kicked her leg up in time to deflect the paw from hitting Toothless's face.

The claws ended up slashing into Toothless's stomach, and the dragon couldn't help but to admire Hiccup for being able to keep in her pain when the same injury was inflicted upon her, so many weeks ago in the woods.

Hiccup swiped her sword at the bear, as did a number of other brave men from the crowd. Slowly, the bear backed up, and Toothless almost roared in delight. They were overwhelming the monster!

If the other people weren't in such close proximity, Toothless could have just let loose a plasma ball and the demon bear would have been nothing other than a bad memory and the source of a few scars here and there. However, these people weren't used to dragons, and if Toothless injured anyone (even by accident), Hiccup could get blamed.

"Yes! We're driving it back!" some fool from the crowd cheered. The bear didn't like the thought that it was being beaten, and found some emergency energy from within itself. It started attacking with renewed frenzy.

Toothless and Hiccup continued zooming to the bear and injuring it quickly before dancing out of the way, but the bear was starting to get many more blows on them. Toothless did his best to keep Hiccup safe, but at the end of the day, he couldn't protect her from everything. Though many strikes hit her, probably the one most noticeable would be the one on her face, a thin line going through her left eyebrow. She also had multiple gashes on her arms, fingers, and shoulders. And as much as Toothless wanted to feel guilty for her injuries, he couldn't spare the energy. He himself had been slashed at and bitten on all of his legs, his belly, and his neck. Luckily his wings and tail were safe.

The battle probably only lasted another fifteen minutes until Hiccup decided that she had had enough. Those fifteen minutes felt like eternities for everyone fighting the monster.

"Alright, Sweetie," Hiccup said. Her voice was hard and determined. Toothless recognized that the battle was going to end soon, and his trembling and aching muscles screamed their thanks. Toothless could tell she was fed up by the tensing of her muscles, and the way she suddenly stilled more than normal. Bloody and sweaty, Toothless's human told him what she had in mind, and Toothless agreed wholeheartedly with her plan.

He quickly dashed into the forest, picked the sickliest looking tree and, after a quick shot with his plasma ball, caused it to fall down. Toothless felt an undeniable sense of relief as he opened his wings. His short legs did their best to wrap around the heavy tree trunk before he took to the sky with it. In a few short strokes Toothless, Hiccup, and the tree were all in the air. Toothless looked to the ground, and released the log at precisely the right moment.

_Thud!_

Hiccup weakly cheered from Toothless's back, but they weren't done yet. Toothless dove down, and quickly seized the demon bear. He took its body to the sky and flew over the forest for a few minutes. At Hiccup's approving pat on the head, Toothless dropped the body and headed back to the clearing where all the people had congregated.

He landed, and Hiccup jumped off of him. Toothless could feel the sweat spot from where Hiccup was sitting on his back, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was crawl in a cold hole and fall asleep for a while. He would have just taken Hiccup to one after dropping the bear in the woods, if he hadn't known her. However, Toothless probably knew Hiccup the best out of anyone in the world. He- of anyone- would know that Hiccup would wait for him to fall asleep and then try to walk back alone. And with the demon bear still in the woods (even if he was unconscious), Toothless would take no chances with her safety. So, he had decided to drop Hiccup off directly with the people who could keep her safe.

However, Toothless was starting to doubt that these people would keep Hiccup safe. As she leaned against his side, resting for a brief moment, Toothless warily watched the large men come towards the two of them. There was not one of them without a weapon in his arms.

What if he left her and they killed her? No. There was no way Toothless could allow that to happen.

Toothless tensed his muscles and spread his wings, shielding Hiccup in the process. It was a terribly uncomfortable position for him, since his wings were not supposed to bend that way, but he didn't care. He was willing to give up his wings for Hiccup, and that was something he was proud of. If another dragon had been present, they would have helped him protect Hiccup, regardless if the dragon knew Hiccup or not. If a dragon was ready to receive damage to his wings for someone, all dragons knew immediately that that person was something special. Wings were fragile, and incredibly important for dragons, and the thought of sacrificing them for another being was a sacred concept for dragons. But Toothless didn't even think as he brought his wings up to cover Hiccup. He ignored her startled squeak as he hissed,

"Stay back! You don't hurt her!"

Hiccup swatted his wings aside before crying out,

"No! Toothless, they're not going to hurt me!" her voice drained of all energy, and her small body slumped against Toothless's rock-solid one. Sometimes it amazed him how strong Hiccup could be one second, and how vulnerable in the next. "Let's just go rest for a while," Then, louder, she addressed the crowd. "I'll explain everything later, I promise!" Back to Toothless, and her voice was as soft as snow. "I promise, they'll never raise another weapon to you again. Let's just go for now."

Hiccup struggled back onto Toothless's back and they took off. The rushing air helped cool down Toothless's burning muscles, and he could only hope that Hiccup was feeling the same way.

By the time Hiccup sneaked Toothless into the castle, past all the maids, and into her rarely used room, it was late at night, and Hiccup could see the dark sky through her small window. As she bandaged Toothless's multiple lacerations, she continually looked to the sky. She loved it. She loved looking at it, breathing it, being in it. But, she knew that there was no way she or Toothless could be out there that night. They were both injured, and there were probably a lot of people outside her room right then who wouldn't hesitate in making their injuries even worse.

Hiccup stayed up for a long time, cleaning all of the gashes on Toothless's body (after finding them first, of course), and then wrapping them. Then, she had to do her own. Luckily for her, Toothless stayed awake to lick all of her wounds before helping her wrap her cuts in bandages.

It took far too long to complete the seemingly simple task, but Hiccup didn't care. As long as their wounds were bound, and safe from infection, and as long as she was with Toothless, Hiccup was satisfied.

She climbed on to her bed and patted the space next to her. Toothless crawled up and smiled gummily at her. She smiled back. Toothless opened his wings, and Hiccup gladly scooted into his warm embrace. Now, if anyone came in there to take her away from Toothless, they would have to go through Toothless himself, first. And no one wanted to deal with an even slightly annoyed Night Fury.

Hiccup snuggled into Toothless's body. Tomorrow, she would have to explain everything and hope that everyone didn't hate her. She would have to apologize to anyone who got injured, and she would have to explain Toothless and their story together to everyone.

Hiccup smiled in her sleep and sighed happily. Tomorrow would come. For now, she was happy just sleeping beside her best friend.

* * *

**I've realized that the only reason I planned this story to be 40 chapters is because the last about ten chapters are super long, so get prepared for even longer waits for updates than before. Also, I might have mentioned this before, but from June 27 to July 17 I won't be able to update at all, I don't think. And probably not a lot in early August, either. **

**This story isn't really about the How To Train Your Dragon movies, more about Brave, and you'll see why later, like, by chapter 34/35. It kind of depends on how sharp you are. Speaking of chapters, how about this one? I wanted a little insight of Toothless and Hiccup's relationship from Toothless, which was a whole lot harder than you might think. I wanted to show how awesome Hiccup was to Toothless, but also how sometimes Toothless feels the need to protect her, yet be her equal at the same time. Yeah… these characters are OOC. And, back to chapters, how about the next one? The people are forced to start getting used to Toothless, Fergus learns most of Hiccup's real story (the one about how she lost her leg), and Wee Dingwall and Young Macintosh show interest in someone they shouldn't be interested in ;) **

**Anyway, those three reviews I asked for came in the first day, which was a shock, 'cuz they usually come slowly throughout the week. I'm actually kind of confused how I have 146 of those right now. 134 favorites, and 148 followers! So happy, honestly guys, thank you so much. Next chapter, people who shouldn't are getting to like Hiccup a little too much (; also, people are forced to get used to Toothless. It'll be good, I promise. What did y'all think of this chapter? I'm hoping for eight reviews for this chapter, so we'll just have to see where that ends up. Again, thank y'all for all the support. Follows and favorites are in unbelievable numbers right now, and that's honestly, great. Thanks for reading, and I'm not sure when the next update will be : )**


	29. The Morning After

**Chapter 29**

Hiccup grudgingly woke up when Toothless stretched out his wings, causing a blast of cool air to sweep over her body. Hiccup shivered as she contemplated complaining and asking Toothless for five more minutes, but she couldn't. She knew that wrapping his wings around her while sleeping was a awkward for him, and that he was a morning dragon and that he liked waking up and getting the day started early in the morning. Another reason Hiccup wouldn't have been able to fall asleep again was because she felt a strange prickle on the back of her neck… almost like someone was watching her.

She forced her eyes open and came face to face with Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall. She wasn't exactly sure why, but they were in her room, staring at her. They were on the opposite side of the room, the side closest to the door, but their eyes were focused intently on Hiccup. From the looks of them, they had been in the room for quite a while, watching. But she had only woken up a few seconds ago. So that meant that they had been watching Toothless sleep, since she had been covered by his wings until seconds ago. She wondered why they were watching Toothless sleep. Maybe they were sent by their fathers to make sure that Toothless didn't go berserk and destroy the palace. But at that moment they seemed more focused on her than on Toothless, and neither of them had any weapons that Hiccup could see. What were they doing in her room?

Toothless dragged Hiccup closer to himself and narrowed his eyes menacingly at the two boys, baring his teeth at them. Hiccup gladly snuggled into her dragon's warmth, thankful for the fact that he knew what she was feeling, and that she didn't have to voice her unease aloud.

Even though the boys were pressed against the wooden door in fear of the dragon, they didn't seem to notice his obvious signs of hostility. Instead, they were focused solely on Hiccup.

"Hello there, Lass," Young Macintosh grinned charmingly. "How are you today?" Before Hiccup could respond with her typical polite response, Wee Dinwall interjected,

"We really liked how you took on Mordue on our own!"

"You were amazing!" Young Macintosh agreed as he cautiously stepped forward.

"So beautiful!" Wee Dingwall shouldered boldly past Young Macintosh.

"So brave!" Young Macintosh twisted Wee Dinwall's head to the side as he stepped even closer. Toothless watched the whole interaction with curious eyes, while Hiccup was mostly confused. She was starting to wonder why her entire body felt as sore as it did. However, before she could ponder on that too much, Wee Dingwall spoke again:

"Gorgeous!"

He fell to the floor as Young Macintosh stood up from his uncomfortable position under Wee Dingwall's feet. Hiccup must have been distracted and failed to notice that Wee Dingwall had thrown Young Macintosh down and decided to walk on top of him. Even though the two made her wary, Hiccup had to admit that they were funny, and that they amused her. She almost wanted to laugh at their antics, but she didn't know if that would be taken in offence. Instead, she just watched on silently, with a smile threatening to overtake her features.

Breathless, Young Macintosh stepped a couple of inches closer to Hiccup and said,

"And I like your dragon, too,"

"Thanks," Hiccup said, surprised that anyone would accept Toothless at all, let alone so quickly. Did watching him sleep show Young Macintosh that Toothless meant no harm? If so, maybe she should have everyone watch Toothless sleep. Hiccup quickly shook the thought away. That would just be weird. "He might like you, too. You know, if he got to know you,"

Hiccup felt her stomach clench, and a low rumble filled the air. Hiccup felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Toothless nudged her with his head, and Hiccup forgot all about her awkwardness and felt nothing but concern for her best friend. He was probably hungry, too.

Hiccup gently pushed Toothless's wings away from her body and slowly stretched her limbs before she tried to stand up. Keyword: tried. The second she tried to balance on her two feet, Hiccup's body lurched to the left, and Hiccup remembered when she kicked Mordue away so that Toothless would stay safe. Yeah, thinking back on that, it was a pretty stupid idea. But Hiccup knew that she would have done it again if she was put back in that situation.

Toothless stood up behind Hiccup, and she tried to lean on him to keep her balance, but before she knew it she was in the air, and neither of her foot nor her bent prosthetic was touching the ground. Hiccup looked up through her bangs and saw the strong jaw line of Young Macintosh. He was looking down at her and slowly walking her backwards, towards the door. Hiccup looked back at Toothless, but he was just watching, not making a sound. At least he wasn't growling. But she couldn't just leave him there. What if someone came and killed him? The very thought of that possibility sent a jab of ice-hot terror through Hiccup's veins.

"You need some breakfast," Macintosh said, interrupting her thoughts. "Come on. We're late." Hiccup looked back at Toothless again and said,

"Sweetie." She felt Macintosh's already fast heart-beat skip a beat before beating even faster than before. She was pressed pretty tightly up against his chest, so of course she felt it. She just didn't understand _why._ Hiccup decided to ignore it for the moment. "You want to come with us?" _I don't like the idea of you alone somewhere you can't fly out of. _

Thankfully, Hiccup knew that Toothless understood the words she didn't say. It was like that between them: they both understood each other, whether the other said something or not. Toothless warbled slightly and jumped behind Wee Dingwall. Wee Dingwall cried out in surprise and fell to the floor. Toothless just chuckled, and Hiccup took that moment to realize that Toothless wasn't even injured anymore. He had already shaken off all of his bandages, and he seemed to be doing just fine. Not a scratch on him. He had probably healed at night. Hiccup faced forward again and rolled her eyes. Dragons.

The four of them made their way down to breakfast (after Young Macintosh had laughed at Wee Dingwall and the shorter Scot had gotten up, grumbling all the time). Young Macintosh let Hiccup down from his arms at the bottom of the staircase. He must not have noticed that her prosthetic was bent. Though she didn't want to admit it, Hiccup knew that if Maraud was there, he would have noticed almost instantly. Not because he actually cared, but because he was a hunter, and hunters tended to notice things quickly.

However, Maraud wasn't there, so no one noticed Hiccup's problem but Toothless. Luckily for Hiccup, Toothless was more than enough. Not even letting her struggle with her prosthetic for a moment, Toothless padded to her and nudged her hand with his nose. She smiled down at him and used his strong neck as a crutch to use instead of crawling, hopping, or asking Young Macintosh to carry her to the Dining Hall. She was grateful for him, and now that he was in the castle with her, Hiccup felt that she could finally feel completely and absolutely safe in the stone walls.

_Maybe…_ Hiccup dared to wonder _Maybe with Toothless here, he can see Maraud when the idiot's not trying to kill him. Maybe… maybe Toothless will approve? _

Hiccup shook the thought out of her head. Even if she wanted a happy marriage more than almost anything, she had to take her experience at Dunbrough one day at a time- one challenge at a time. And unfortunately for Hiccup, her next challenge wasn't choosing wedding themes, or the flowers she was going to wear in her hair. Nope, not even close. Her next obstacle was breakfast, and making sure that her best friend stayed alive through it.

She knew that with her prosthetic bent out of whack, Toothless would be downed until she fixed it. And every second that her prosthetic wasn't working was another second that Toothless would be vulnerable to attack. Plus, Hiccup loved flying, and she was sure that for Toothless, it was one of the rare, pure joys of life. They were addicted to flying with each other, and Hiccup would make sure that they each got their fix before the end of the night. Even though she was still bloody in some spots, and her limbs were sore, she knew that she could fix her leg, and still be well enough to fly at night. Because of the number of times she had already done the task, she no longer considered it difficult to do. It was harder when she was still learning how to fly with Toothless, in the early days of their friendship.

What _was_ challenging, though, was dealing with a room full of people. Even if she knew them (and she didn't) she wouldn't have felt too confident. Hiccup never had been like her father; she was no people person. She understood machines and dragons. She knew how to run a smithy, and how to make those sharp turns while flying at break-neck speeds. She knew how to measure and calculate, and she knew how to calm down every dragon species which resided on Berk. What she absolutely didn't know at all was how to deal with people. She never quite knew if she was being rude or not, or if she was being too open or closed off. Even on Berk, surrounded by people she had grown up around, Hiccup had always been awkward. But now, she was in Dunbrough, and was about to face a table-full of people who she didn't even know. And it was especially difficult to face them when she was mostly sure that almost all of them wanted to kill her best friend.

Yes. The sooner she headed to the forge and fixed her leg, the more comfortable she would be with the fact that Toothless was here. Maybe she could even make something where Toothless could fly on his own. She wouldn't need to help guide him anymore… and maybe that would be for the best.

Anyway, until Hiccup went to the forge, Toothless would just have to stick close to Hiccup. Not that that inconvenienced either of them. They were like that back on Berk, and it was a familiar comfort to be able to stay together all day again.

The four of them arrived at the table and all the warm buzz of conversation stopped. The room suddenly felt ten times bigger and ten times colder to Hiccup as everyone became deathly silent and turned to stare at her and Toothless. Mostly Toothless.

In their minds, the dragon was a rabid animal- a beast. In terms of emotions and conscious, it was no better than Mordue. Maybe even worse. Mordue had been a part of reality for the Scots all their lives. They accepted him and the danger he presented. They even had means to counter the threat he constantly posed to them. But dragons? No one even knew they actually existed. Everyone assumed that they were stories- fairytales. Seeing one in the flesh was like a wakeup call. Mordue wasn't the only dangerous beast out there. There were also dragons. Or maybe it was just this dragon, like there was only one Mordue. The people weren't sure what to think anymore, their beliefs had been ripped apart, scrambled, and then taped loosely back together.

A few of the men sitting started sitting up and reached for the weapons which rested at their sides, but one sharp look from the personified devil sat them all down, and they bowed their heads in fear.

The dragon wasn't like Mordue, who was exuded his frightening qualities. No- the dragon was frightening in a quiet way. It was pitch black, able to blend into any shadow it wanted to. It had razor sharp teeth and claws, and almost everyone at the table could just imagine it digging those dangerous attributes into the flesh of any human who got in its way. It was bright eyes, contrasting its dark body, which shone with intelligence, but were about as soulless as a pair of eyes could get. It had the muscle mass and litheness to be able to do whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted, to whomever it wanted, and get away before anyone knew what had happened. And it had the lack of empathy to do so as well.

The entire persona of the dragon was a fierce, dangerous one. It was a complete picture, and most everyone at the table could instantly understand almost everything it stood for within seconds of glancing at it. There was only one questionable thing about it, and there was no answer anyone had for the anomaly in the dragon's aura. And that anomaly was the Viking princess.

Sure, she was tall. But she was tiny. That is to say, petite. Her arms were slim and her waist tiny. Her legs were slender, but slight. She was built more like a runner than a wrestler, and she had an attitude that didn't match that of a stereotypical Viking at all. She was kind and polite, but also extremely intelligent and surprisingly witty if you got in a conversation with her. So, why would she seem to care for the dragon, who was so obviously her complete opposite? And why would the dragon listen to the Viking princess, when it could just as easily maul her to death or eat her?

No one knew, but no one asked as the group of three royals and the dragon approached the table. Slowly, they started eating again, but not one made another sound. Their fear silenced them.

Hiccup didn't pay any more attention to them as she noticed what Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall were doing. Toothless watched with her.

Young Macintosh went to the table and pulled out a chair. He smiled charmingly at Hiccup, but Wee Dingwall sat down in the seat. He patted the one next to him, inviting Hiccup to sit there. Wee Dinwall had been nothing but polite and courteous to Hiccup since she had known him, so there was really no reason for her to not accept his offer. Young Macintosh huffed (though Hiccup wasn't sure why) and sat on Hiccup's other side.

The two kept hitting each other and discreetly flinging food at each other all throughout the meal, and Hiccup was caught in the middle of their rivalry. Hiccup, bless her soul, remained oblivious as to why they were doing what they were doing. From what she had seen of their behavior earlier that morning, they seemed to do this a lot. She just wanted to know why. She hadn't seen either of them do anything to provoke the other. There had to be some reason for their quarrels. Right?

From under the table, Toothless rolled his eyes. Wee Dingwall saw the dragon's show of unexplainably human emotion at his owner's naïveté, and continued to stare wide eyed as Hiccup confidently held out a palm-ful of food to the dragon's mouth.

"And- what are you looking at?" Young Macintosh interrupted himself to question what Wee Dingwall was staring at in such a fascinated manner. "Ah…" Young Macintosh wasn't quite sure what to make of the sight in front of him.

Hiccup brought her hand above the table, picked up another ice of food, and then brought it back to the dragon's mouth. The two warrior Scottish princes watched, amazed, as the dragon placed his large head on Hiccup's lap and controlled his powerful jaws enough to not snap off her fingers as she continued to somehow simultaneously feed him and eat for herself as well for the rest of breakfast.

* * *

After the visiting royals and most of the servants left, and the triplets and Fergus went to go about their own business, Maraud made his way to Hiccup and her dragon. His mum was still talking to Maudy, clearing some things up. Maraud had a clear opportunity to spend at least fifteen minutes with Hiccup and her pet. He was determined to make some progress with her. He had seen the way Macintosh and Dingwall had crowded around her, and it had irritated him to no end. He wasn't on the friendliest terms with Hiccup, so it wasn't like he could tell her to stay away from them… but that wouldn't stop him from having a talk with the two morons after he was done talking to Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" he called out before he rushed to stand behind her chair. "How are you feeling?"

"…Fine," Maraud inwardly sighed. She sounded so… guarded. She didn't used to sound like that with him. She used to smile and go on rides with him. And then he had to go and mess that up by trying to kill her pet. And from everything he had seen from the dynamic between the two native Berkians, they truly cared for each other. The more Maraud observed about the relationship between the two of them, the more he realized how much he had completely ruined everything between Hiccup and himself that night almost two weeks ago.

"Listen, Hiccup," Maraud could practically feel his face turn redder than his sister's hair. He couldn't help it- he wasn't used to apologizing. Then again, he wasn't used to being desperate enough to have someone like him to have to apologize. The last time he remembered apologizing was almost a year ago, and that was only when his mother had forced him to write an apology letter to the princess of Arendelle for being so rude to her. "I…" Maraud swallowed. He couldn't do it. Not now. "How's your face?" he blurted out instead.

"My… face?" Hiccup looked confused, and Maraud felt like he had dug himself into the center of the earth. There was no way he could redeem himself from this embarrassment. He was just about to turn around and run away when of all people, her dragon helped Maraud, though Maraud had a feeling the dragon wasn't _trying_ to help him.

It crept out from under the table, and Maraud got a good look into its eyes for a second. No. Not 'its.' _His. _

For something which had been haunting Maraud's nightmares for days on end, the dragon's eyes were surprisingly… warm. The curiosity which reflected in those blue-green orbs mirrored the curiosity in Hiccup's. Maraud looked into the intelligence and understanding of his eyes and felt a storm of regret soak him to the bone. He had tried to kill the dragon without even giving Hiccup a chance to explain. It made Maraud sick to think that he could have killed the creature in front of him for no reason other than his own emotional imbalances.

He couldn't blame everything on Hiccup springing it up on him without giving a heads up, because she _had_ tried to tell him. He had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and heard something which wasn't meant for his ears. He had been tense and overflowing with anger even before she had introduced him to her dragon. There was no real excuse for how much rage had poured out of him that day. There was nothing to say but 'sorry.' But Maraud just wasn't ready to say it.

The dragon put his forepaws on Hiccup's thighs and nuzzled Hiccup's left eye.

"Oh!" Hiccup said. She blinked and looked up at Maraud, "I didn't know anyone but Toothless and I even noticed that one,"

Truthfully, until that moment, Maraud hadn't noticed the small cut on her eyebrow, but he wasn't about to tell that to Hiccup. The dragon got off of Hiccup and crouched at her side. Even when compressing his size and muscle mass, the dragon was almost as tall as the table. It turned to stare at Maraud with narrowed eyes and a barely audible growl came from him. Maraud mentally flinched. What was he expecting? That the dragon would have forgotten that Maraud had tried to kill him but had instead pierced Hiccup's good leg with an arrow?

"I, uh, I've noticed a lot about you," Maraud stammered. His ears burned, almost as much as the searing stare of the dragon. Maraud could do nothing but stare back as he continued his conversation with Hiccup. "Like, uhm… you've met Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall?"

Maraud wasn't sure what, but he knew for certain that something in the dragon's eyes changed in that moment. His pupils dilated the slightest bit, and the growling softened.

"Yeah, they were in my room when I woke up,"

"What?" Maraud broke the staring contest with the dragon (whose name he couldn't for the life of him remember). He turned to look Hiccup directly in the eyes, if only just to make sure that he heard what he thought he did.

"Umm… they were in my room when I woke up," Hiccup tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and looked at Toothless. Then she turned her head to look at her mum. Unfortunately, the queen was still talking to Maudy. There had to be some way for her to politely stop talking to Maraud! Even though Toothless stopped growling at him (though she didn't know why), Hiccup wasn't entirely sure about Maraud, or what he wanted. The last time he had been this close to Toothless, he had tried to kill him. Call her paranoid, but Hiccup was still worried about Maraud being close to Toothless.

For all his faults, though, he sure was attractive. If a boy could keep his long hair in a ponytail and wear a skirt and yet still manage to look rugged and handsome, there was no doubt that he was a handsome one. However, her favorite part of him was his eyes. They were deep set, but Hiccup could easily see the bright blue of his irises. They were like two orbs filled with spring water. When he was angry, they would darken slightly to a sky blue. Hiccup had yet to see them turn darker. And yet, Hiccup knew that no matter how dark they got, he would still be handsome. If only he could learn to keep his mouth shut. His accent was great, but he really needed to watch the words which he let loose from his mouth.

"They were in your room, huh?" Maraud was still looking at her, but Hiccup had the feeling that he wasn't actually seeing _her. _And after years of being seen through, Hiccup was positive she was right.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered. She looked at Toothless for help on how to get out of the situation she was currently in, but he was busy studying Maraud. She would have to ask him about that later. "I don't know why-"

"Hiccup!"

The Viking princess's head snapped to the left. Her mum had cut her off from her first conversation with Maraud in about two weeks. She felt… oddly unhappy about the interruption. The look in Maraud's easily readable eyes made it clear to her that he had come over with intentions to apologize. But he had chickened out at the last second. As she walked to the queen, Hiccup mentally sighed. Her fiancée certainly was a proud one.

"Good morning, Mum," Hiccup greeted, and Toothless smiled at the older woman. Eleanor gently stroked the reptile's head, and repeated the greeting to the younger girl. Then, she sighed.

"What's wrong, Mum?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, nothing's really _wrong…_" Eleanor trailed off.

"What do I need to do?" Hiccup certainly was a quick one. Eleanor smiled at her and said,

"I think it would be best if you explained your story to Fergus. Just for him to see that Toothless is trustworthy, and not some raging, mindless monster. Is that alright?" Eleanor didn't bother explaining which story- Hiccup was smart, she would know what Eleanor was talking about.

"Where is he?"

"He's up in his office," Eleanor smiled, relieved that she wouldn't have to convince Hiccup like she usually had to do with her headstrong son.

"Alright. I'll just take Toothless with me," Hiccup murmured. Toothless warbled happily, and the two of them started moving up the stairs. Eleanor just watched from her stationary position, hoping with all her heart that Fergus was in a listening mood. Even though Hiccup was still mad at him, Eleanor could tell that Maraud was beginning to truly care about the young Viking. Eleanor had seen the way her son watched her from a distance, and had seen the way he stormed after Wee Dingwall and Young Macintosh after Hiccup had walked away from him. Maraud was a good boy underneath all his rough spots and raging tantrums. And Eleanor had no doubt in her mind that Hiccup could make Maraud shape up and become the man that every wife wanted.

She saw Toothless nuzzle her future daughter-in-law before they both disappeared into Fergus's office. Once again, Eleanor prayed that Fergus was in a listening mood. But she couldn't be there for the story with Hiccup. She had other pressing issues to attend to.

_Besides, _Eleanor thought to herself as she started walking to her room to start going through the enormous amount of paperwork she had been neglecting. _I think she'll be fine. Fergus seems to like her. Everything will end up just perfect. _

Hiccup, meanwhile, was struggling internally while staring into Fergus's eyes. They were a striking crystal blue. Just like Maraud's. For a second, Hiccup let herself get lost in her thoughts of the Scottish prince.

He was rude, outspoken, stubborn. He for some reason felt as if he was the only one in the world who was facing problems, and acted like a complete child while trying to get past those problems. And yet, he was also kind and funny. He knew what he believed, and he was passionate. Plus, Hiccup just couldn't get over how unfairly handsome he was. His jaw line was as sharp and hard as one of Mordue's claws. His hair was unruly, but it gave him a certain ruggedness, which Hiccup couldn't deny made him all the more appealing to her. His eyes were deep set and intense. Maraud trained vigorously every day, and his efforts were not without their merit. Every time Hiccup saw his strong arms, or his muscled legs, she felt a blush appear on her face without her consent. His voice was deep and harsh, but it sent tingles of pleasure through Hiccup, and it irritated her to no end.

Hiccup shook her thoughts of Maraud out of her head and focused on the matter at hand: keeping Toothless alive.

"I know you're probably confused," Hiccup spoke first. If she didn't, she probably wouldn't find it in her to say anything at all. Fergus stayed silent and stood in front of her, probably waiting to listen to her explanation. Hiccup swallowed, "And maybe even scared. But please, Toothless isn't dangerous!"

"Lass," Fergus sighed, "How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Well… I'm not sure how much this will prove to you, but it's all the proof I have right now…"

With that, Hiccup began spinning her tale of how she met Toothless, and how she actually lost her leg. She paid special attention not to mention the other dragons to Fergus. Her father had told her to not say a word, so instead of a dragon the size of a mountain, it was just a monster which had the ability to manipulate the powers of the volcano it resided in. And instead of her friends riding on dragons to help her, they simply used their weapons to help Hiccup and Toothless.

The more she explained, the more Hiccup felt simultaneously relieved and guilty. She wanted to tell Fergus the truth; he had been nothing but kind and accommodating since she had arrived. But she knew that she had to lie to him. She had to protect Berk, and the dragons who lived there.

Hiccup finished her tale with a deep breath. She couldn't find it in her to look into Fergus's eyes. He didn't say anything. After a tense minute of silence, Hiccup hurried to assure the king,

"I'll make sure to prove to you that Toothless is trustworthy. I promise, he wouldn't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it! He's really patient, and if you give him a chance, you can see for yourself what an amazing dragon he is!"

Hiccup lifted her eyes to meet the king's, but was surprised to see him only focusing on Toothless. He nodded absentmindedly at Hiccup and her words, but he was more intent on reaching out with a strangely gentle hand and touching Toothless's head.

Hiccup watched as Toothless stayed as still as a statue. He didn't openly accept the contact from the Scottish king, but he didn't narrow his pupils and hiss at the man, either. Fergus smiled brightly at Hiccup and pointed at Toothless's face as if to say 'look at me! I'm touching a dragon!'

The king's reaction was so childlike and endearing that Hiccup couldn't hold back her burst of giggles at the scene. The king tried to convince Hiccup to go back to her room and rest for the remainder of the day, but Hiccup kindly refused. She and Toothless had to go the forge, because there was no way they weren't going flying that night.

As she and Toothless walked to the smithy together, Hiccup couldn't help but smile and rub Toothless's neck affectionately. He had managed to win over the king. No one would hurt him without risking the wrath of their king. And, of course, the danger of facing a dragon. Now that Toothless was staying with her, her life in Dunbrough could truly begin. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect from her marriage to Maraud, but she knew that with Toothless by her side, she could handle anything.

* * *

**Many things to say. To… Guest, I guess? I also noticed how slowly Maraud and Hiccup's relationship was going, and I know Hiccup's being a bit stubborn right now, but honestly, it's not like Maraud's done anything yet to redeem himself in her eyes. He's tried… but he's not been very successful at having a sit-down talk where each of them understands where the other is coming from. Also, sorry if the writing sucks. I haven't updated in like a month (as I'm sure most of you have noticed) and am a bit out of practice. Sorry if the writing style is different than usual, or if the characters are OOC. I just wanted this chapter to be over with. **

**I wanted Hiccup's relationship with everyone to be very developed, because Hiccup honestly knows no one when she first got there, and I wanted her to have a firm support system, and a reason for everyone to freak out when… certain things happen. Maraud's going to get his act together, soon, though, and I will try to add more of him and Hiccup's relationship. In my original outline, they get some serious bonding time in about one or two chapters. I tried to add a little moment between them in here, and to show that Hiccup finds some good qualities in him, but it wasn't in my outline, and I'm sorry if it seemed a little rushed, or out of place. I've kind of given up on the idea of editing, so any grammar or spelling mistakes… I'm just sorry. I know this chapter took forever for me to update, and I'm sorry, but I always knew this one was going to be hard. I was writing the outline, and I was like 'if I give up on this story, it will be on this chapter.' I didn't, though, so… yay me! Ten more chapters after this one. Wonder what's going to happen. Is the drama over? Are bears going to make more appearances? How about dragons? Is someone going to get jealous? And witches? Idk. Well, **_**You **_**dk. Haha (; ****Quick question: ElionFrost, where are you, buddy? I miss your reviews? **

**Next chapter: a couple of new marriage proposals (wonder from who, lol), and Stoic gives Maraud some advise (wonder when he got there…?). I got so many favorites, follows, and reviews, and I'm honestly so happy! I'm hoping for three reviews for this chapter. Too much to ask? Hope not. Thanks for the support, y'all : ) **


	30. Challengers B and C

**Chapter 30**

Stoic stepped off his ship and onto solid ground after his week-long voyage from Berk. He looked around the vaguely familiar marina and wished that he had fonder memories of the beautiful land. The first and last time he had stepped foot in the nation of Dunbrough, it had been to give his daughter away to the prince. ANd now, he was here to make sure Hiccup married that prince, even though Stoic knew hardly anything about the boy, especially whether or not he was worthy enough for Hiccup. Stoic mentally shook his head. What was he talking about? No one was worthy enough for his daughter. No boy could ever deserve the courageous, brave, kind, and intelligent Princess of Berk.

On the dock, waiting with a few servants, were King Fergus and Queen Eleanor. They walked to Stoic as soon as his ship docked and the servants grabbed Stoic's bags, while Stoic made his way to the royals in front of him, ignoring his weariness from travelling for so long without his beloved dragon, Skullcrusher.

"Hello, Chief Stoic. I hope your journey was well?" the queen asked politely.

"Just fine, thank you, My Queen,"

The kings simply nodded a greeting at each other. They had shared a... quite embarrassing situation the last time Stoic had visited. And anyone who experienced that kind of event with another man knew instinctively that there was no need to be exceedingly formal around them anymore-no matter their social ranking.

With their greetings out of the way, all the royals then started walking silently to the castle. Stoic found his thoughts wandering back to the reason he came back to the land so early. Those princes—Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall—had asked for Hiccup's hand in marriage. Hiccup had gotten flustered and confused and had sent word to him, to ask for his advice. Well, Stoic had heard of the marriage proposals the day before he got Hiccup's message, requesting him to come to Dunbrough and help her. He had already packed for his voyage and had gotten a boat ready by that time.

The other princes had no real chance against Prince Maraud. For one thing, their marriage was already guaranteed, and both he and King Fergus had signed their consent to the union. For another (though neither Stoic, Toothless, Snotlout, nor Tuffnut liked it), Hiccup's marriage to Maraud would ensure a relatively permanent friendly relationship between Berk and Dunbrough. It needed to be done to ensure peace in Berk. And if there was nothing else Stoic had learned about Hiccup, it was that she would do whatever she had to to make Berk a safe place for its people. For Hiccup's people.

Honestly, Stoic was mainly on the island to see how his little girl was doing. He wasn't going to help judge the competition for Hiccup's hand. Maraud could win or Maraud could lose, but that boy was going to marry his daughter. And if he had any complaints, then he could talk to Stoic's fist. And forehead. And hammer.

Unfortunately, the competition was a necessity; like a tradition. It would be flat-out rude to deny the other suitors without giving them a chance to compete for Hiccup's hand.

Stoic shook his head silently. A few years ago, the idea of Hiccup having even one suitor was _ridiculous_. Now, she was being swarmed by strong, powerful princes, and Stoic couldn't help but wish that she had stayed the way she was when she was little—unnoticed, and undesired by lads choosing wives. Stoic just couldn't believe his little girl was all grown up and pledging her life to some undeserving boy.

Stoic walked through the plaza in front of the castle, wondering what Hiccup thought of the boy, and how she had come to her conclusion without that giant lizard of hers by her side at every moment of the day. Since the defeat of the Red Death, the lizard and Hiccup hadn't been apart for more than twenty minutes at a time, when Hiccup was going to the bathroom, or the lizard was too hungry to stay and watch her at the forge. He himself hadn't spent more than three hours away from his own dragon—Skullcrusher, and though the chief and his dragon shared an undeniably strong bond of their own, it was admittedly nothing like the soul-connecting likeness of Toothless and Hiccup.

Stoic suddenly found himself worried. He, unfortunately, knew that Hiccup would be just fine without him, her friends, and the rest of Berk. She had grown up alienated by her own people, and she knew how to live without them. But what about Toothless? How had she been coping without him? Her letter had been unbearably brief and to the point, and she hadn't shared anything about her stay in Dunbrough. Was that a good sign? A bad one? Stoic found himself frustrated by his lack of knowledge of his daughters habit's. Stoic felt his hair start to gray as he thought of the misery his poor daughter had already been through. He hated the fact that she might be going through even more hardship here, away from her land, her people, and her dragon. Stoic's brow wrinkled, and he frowned, deep in though.

"How is Hiccup doing?" Stoic asked carefully. "Does she seem… homesick? Missing anyone?"

"She really hasn't seemed too sad after she brought that dragon of hers back to the castle," Queen Eleanor said, walking easily in between the two massive rulers. Stoic nearly choked on his beard. She what?! Didn't he tell her to keep Toothless and all their dragons a secret? Didn't he tell her…!?

"Oh, don't worry," King Fergus laughed. "He's been more than welcome. Though, he does eat an awful lot of our seafood, doesn't he, Dear?"

Eleanor laughed,

"Yes, he does. We'll have to double the amount of fishing boats we send out to keep up with him."

"One step ahead of you on that one, Dear," Fergus winked, and Eleanor rolled her eyes discreetly at her husband's childish ways in front of their guest. She didn't understand the unspoken agreement between the two monarchs: the pledge of informality.

As if his ears were burning, the Night Fury leaped out of seemingly nowhere, and landed in front of the chief of Berk, pushing at the massive man with his head. Stoic froze, tense, waiting for the shouts of confusion, distrust, and fear, waiting for people to run around in fear, waiting for people to bring out their weapons and start to attack the dragon in front of him. But, none of that happened. In fact, all the people seemed perfectly at ease with the large reptile. A few even called out his name and waved at him, earning a gummy smile in return.

Stoic couldn't help the smile on his face. He shook his head fondly and slightly bemused as Toothless pressed his head underneath Stoic's large hand. Good old Hiccup—getting everyone to accept dragons- and she had barely been there three months! He just wondered how exactly she had gotten everyone to accept him. She gave up her lower left leg to get the Berkians to accept dragons. Stoic just hoped she hadn't done anything nearly as drastic for the Dunbroughs.

"Well, let's keep going, shall we? Hiccup's been jumping around all day, anxious to meet you," Eleanor smiled at the chief, and Stoic found himself walking again, but at an even faster pace, thanks to the eager nudges and slightly harsh pushes from the Night Fury.

"Alright, ya Nightmare," Stoic grumbled, "I'm moving, I'm moving."

After a few short minutes, the three royals entered the castle, and Toothless immediately scampered off, no doubt to go find Hiccup.

"So, there's three other boys shooting for my daughter's hand, eh?" Stoic asked, trying to seem casual, but probably failing miserably.

"Ah, only two others. Wee Dingwall and Young Macintosh. Them, Maraud, and Hiccup will probably be down in a few moments, if I can predict Hiccup half as well as Toothless can," Eleanor corrected.

"Well," Stoic sighed, and lowered his voice so that only the king and queen would be able to hear him, "I hope you know that no matter who wins, Maraud will still be the one to marry my daughter,"

Both the royals in front of Stoic looked at him oddly, and Stoic frowned. Why were they looking at him like that? Did they not want Hiccup to marry into their family anymore? Why, the nerve of them! They take his daughter away for ninety days, then decide they don't want her! She wasn't some commodity from Sven's home-good hut! She would be treasured and held in high esteem with whomever she married! Stoic felt his fingers twitch at the thought of the Dunbroughs not wanting his perfect little girl anymore, and just barely held himself back from punching the king in the face.

Eleanor, seeming to read Stoic's thoughts, hurriedly assured him,

"Nothing against Hiccup, because we would absolutely _love it_ if she joined our family, but here in Dunbrough, we have… certain traditions. Especially when it comes to courting a young woman,"

"Aye," Fergus nodded, "If Young Macintosh won the competition, and we didn't let Hiccup marry him, well…" the king trailed off, and Eleanor sighed,

"It would be considered highly offensive. This competition is very real, Chief Stoic. We best hope Hiccup choose archery, otherwise Young Macintosh or Wee Dingwall just might win the honor of your daughter's hand in marriage."

Stoic felt his blood turn cold. So, this was real then. He really should have brought Gobber with him. Stoic was about to ask the queen (since it seemed like she had more knowledge about what was to come) more, but he was interrupted by the sound of his daughter's excited squeal.

"Daddy!"

Stoic didn't stumble as a small but solid force hit him, but he felt his knees buckle. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he had heard Hiccup's voice.

"Hiccup!" He smiled, and held her at an arm's distance, scanning her over with his eyes. His eyes narrows at something on her face. Had that been there before? It most certainly had not. _"Hello, what's this?"_ he asked in Norse as he traced the new scar on Hiccup's eyebrow.

"_Oh," _Hiccup answered back in their same native tongue. _"Turns out _Dunbrough_ has their own beastly problems. While it's no Red Death, it certainly is a formidable opponent," _

Stoic frowned. Another creature for Hiccup to possibly get killed by? He was not very fond of that idea. Hiccup, having apparently read her father's mind, rolled her eyes.

"_Don't worry, Dad. It's nothing," _

"_Don't go out trying to kill it. I'm sure they'll be able to deal with it,"_

"_Alright," _

Stoic wasn't impressed by his daughter's flippant tone. _"Promise me, _Hiccup,"

But Hiccup was distracted from answering when three boys descended the stairs and made their way to Stoic. The first boy was a tall boy with wavy dark locks and a hopeful look in his eyes. But Stoic knew straight away that he would be too easy to please for his daughter.

While she might deny, or not even know, Stoic and Toothless did. Hiccup enjoyed a challenge. She loved hard work and dedication; hours of time spent on something. She would be no different with love. This boy… he was too open, not enough of a challenge for Stoic's daughter. She might have been flattered by his attention for a while, but she would eventually grow bored and would probably end up doing something extremely dangerous to excite her. Like try to track and kill Dunbrough's 'formidable opponent.' Stoic would be damned if he let that happen, or if he let Hiccup marry the dark-locked boy in front of him.

Stoic glowered at the prince, and the boy ("Y-Young Macintosh, Sir!") almost fainted. There was no way Stoic would ever let his daughter marry such a _boy. _He was practically a _child_. No. Hiccup deserved a man.

The second boy was a short fellow. Shorter than Hiccup, even! (Though it seemed that Hiccup was almost taller than average in Dunbrough). He had wimpy arms, and Stoic was sure that if Hiccup ever needed help in her forge, or just help in general, the _boy_ would not be able to help her. He had a blank look in his eyes, and his hair stuck up everywhere. Stoic furrowed his brows.

"Name?" Stoic grunted when the boy hadn't introduced himself after a good minute of standing in front of the chief.

"Wee Dingwall, Sir," the blonde boy answered quickly. Stoic tried to catch his daughter's gaze, but it was already focused on the last boy. So, she didn't care for Wee Dingwall at all then. That made sense. Hiccup was one of the most intelligent people Stoic had ever seen. She would need a smart partner in life, or she would go out of her mind conversing so simply with him. No. This one would definitely not do. Stoic looked past the short Scottsman and checked the direction Hiccup was focusing on. Of course. She was staring at her original fiancé. Maraud.

Stoic turned to look back at Hiccup, and couldn't exactly discern her facial expression. Stoic mentally sighed. Just a consequence of ignoring his child for endless years, he supposed.

"Oy!" Young Macintosh squealed, and Stoic turned to see what was happening. Maraud was yanking on his hair with one hand, while holding the back of Wee Dingwall's neck with the other. The young prince grit his teeth and grumbled something to the two of them before looking over at Hiccup. He seemed to see something there that Stoic hadn't seen, and sighed before letting go of the two princes. Then he tensed, probably seeing his mother's withering gaze quickly shifting between him and Stoic. Maraud snapped his head up to see the chief. The chief could see the shock in the young lad's eyes. He blinked, and quickly stumbled over his greeting.

"A-ah, hello Chief Stoic!"

"Hmmm…" Stoic stroked his beard with his hand before nodding at the young lad. There was something… familiar about his actions. Something that Stoic found slightly endearing. He just couldn't think of exactly what at the moment. But he knew... something about Maraud made Stoic think he had potential to be Hiccup's.

"Oh! Yes, Dear," Stoic heard King Fergus yelp out. The queen raised an expectant eyebrow at her husband, and King Fergus smiled at her before turning to Stoic. The Berkian chief fondly remembered the days when Valka and him used to have similar exchanges. "We've a lovely collection of swords," Fergus informed Stoic enthusiastically. "Right this way,"

Stoic had no intention of being rude, so he followed the king, only glancing backwards once. He really wished he could have more time with his daughter, but she seemed content to just have that lizard with her. Stoic mentally sighed again before looking back at King Fergus. He had been the one to push Hiccup away for all those years. No matter how hard he tried, there was no way he could really make it up to her for it. The harsh words. The disappointed gazes. The deaf ears towards her words. The blind eye towards her tormentors. No amount of apologies could make it up to her. And they both knew it. He would just have to try. He had started doing so months ago. And he could continue to do so by seeing if Maraud was really the one for her.

* * *

Over the few days that Stoic had been in Dunbrough, he had noticed a few things about Maraud that made the Viking chief chuckle. Whenever he was around Hiccup, the Scottish prince seemed to go out of his way to be rude and obnoxious. He constantly picked fights with her and argued with her, but it was all (alright…mostly) an act.

If there was ever a moment Hiccup wasn't looking at Maraud (and those moments were very few, and far in between), the prince would be staring at her—surprisingly longing, and surprisingly open about his feelings. He would make sure she wasn't hurt, and try to see to it that none of the suitors talked to her. Stoic could see how much he wanted to beat the other suitors to a pulp, but saw the restraint he used. Probably because of Hiccup's influence. She never was one who celebrated violence. The saddle on Toothless's back was proof enough of that.

"Well fine then!" Stoic sighed as he heard Maraud yell. They were arguing again. "Go ahead and do it!"

"I was going to do it with or without your permission." Hiccup's voice was scathingly cold. Stoic couldn't recall ever hearing Hiccup sound that angry back on Berk. Even when she was a child, Hiccup had been abnormally genlte and patient. The emotions the Dunbrough prince brought out of Hiccup were astounding. If Stoic told anyone back on Berk that he had seen Hiccup angry at least once a day since he had gotten to Dunbrough, they would have tied the chief to a ship and cast him off for fear he'd gone mad! It was common knowledge that Hiccup didn't get mad. Ever! But apparently, that was only true if a certain blue eyed Scott wasn't around to challenge the patience right out of her.

Hiccup stormed away, and Stoic watched as Maraud's eyes immediately softened and watched Hiccup walk away with every bit of concentration a _man_ has in him.

Stoic stopped himself from walking after Hiccup. They had spent the entire day together yesterday. Now, he needed to have a word or two with Maraud. He walked silently behind Maraud and clapped him on the shoulder. Maraud jumped into the air and made to unsheathe his sword, but Stoic wasn't concerned in the least.

"You and me need to have a chat, lad,"

"A…a chat?" Maraud sounded unsurprisingly nervous and afraid. Stoic chuckled.

"Nothing to worry about, lad. Just a chat,"

Stoic started leading Maraud with an iron-firm arm to his room, and pretended not to notice as the prince by his side tried to look for means of escape.

"What exactly did you want to talk about, Sir?" Maraud asked, unusually formal as the two entered Stoic's guest room. Stoic still found it a strange concept, but kept his opinion to himself unless it was just him and the king dueling on his training pit. And then, the king would just tell him to shut his pie-hole and get back to the spar.

"What else? I'm talking to you about your relationship with Hiccup,"

Maraud paled, and his muscles tensed.

"What about it?" Maraud's tone was polite enough, but his voice was strained, and Stoic saw anger and a little bit of desperation in the prince's ice cold eyes.

"Oh, calm down, lad," Stoic said. "I'm just here to give you a little bit of advice,"

"How could you give me advice about Hiccup? You barely seem to know her," Maraud accused. Stoic's eyebrows furrowed. "No offence," Maraud amended, but anyone with ears could clearly hear that Maraud didn't mean his apology one bit.

_Well, he's challenge enough, _Stoic thought to himself. _Just hope he's ready for Hiccup. Never ran away from anything, that one. _

"I don't think you're good enough for her," Stoic went right ahead and said it plainly for the Scott. "But I don't think anyone is good enough for her. I just know that of the three suitors she has, Hiccup would appreciate you the most. Just listen boy," Stoic said when he saw Maraud open his mouth, "What you're doing—picking fights with her, arguing with her, yelling—it would work with a lot of girls in my village. In fact, it would work with most Viking girls. But, in case you hadn't noticed, Hiccup is not like most of us," Stoic's voice deepened as he said almost challengingly, "And that makes her so much better than most of us. Am I right?"

"Yes, Sir," For the first time, Maraud seemed completely honest in his words to Stoic, and the Berkian chief nodded in approval.

"The only way to get Hiccup to fall in love is by doing the complete opposite of…whatever it is you're doing right now. Talk to her. Understand her. Act like…" Stoic took a second to come up with the right words, "Act like your father does around your mother. Considerate and kind. Be a man for her,"

Both males stood in the room for a minute, until Stoic made a movement to leave. He was hungry, and Maraud needed to think.

"Wait!" Maraud called after him. Stoic turned to face him, and Maraud asked, "How do I do that? How am I supposed to be considerate and nice after…all the things I've done?"

There was something in Maraud's voice and eyes that made Stoic think that there was something Maraud had done that no one had bothered to tell him about. Stoic decided that it would be best if he didn't know. Hiccup was (unfortunately) getting married to someone. It would be best if her future husband wasn't someone Stoic despised.

"Try to show some interest in the things she likes. See where that gets you."

Stoic started walking back to the dining hall. Toothless was sure to be hungry at that hour. And wherever Toothless was, Hiccup wasn't far behind. Stoic just wanted some time with his little girl before she fell in love with Maraud and vowed her life to him. And Stoic knew it was going to happen.

The chief had finally realized why Maraud's behavior seemed so familiar and endearing to himself. It was because he had acted the exact same way after Valka had won his hand in marriage. During their engagement period, Stoic had picked fights with his future wife every day until she had had enough and called him out on it in front of everyone yalling at him until both their faces were red- hers from exertion, his from embarrassment. Gobber still laughed about it to this day.

If Maraud was anything like Stoic, he would win Hiccup's heart soon enough. And their love would be as pure and strong as Stoic and Valka's was. And honestly, that was all Stoic wanted for Hiccup. A life of happiness and safety with the man she loved.

* * *

**I haven't written this story in a while (in case you hadn't noticed) and I'm sorry that the characters aren't like they usually are. I'm also sorry if it seems a bit rushed in places, but I just wanted to get this chapter over with. I read through the chapters I have planned out, and I've realized that they're all really long, and I dread writing a lot of them (ToT)**

**Anyway, that's to all my followers for supporting this story for so long- I think it's almost been a year since I started this story. Isn't that crazy? Anyway, thanks y'all for reading, favoriting, following, and sending reviews. Those comments really give me the incentive to keep writing. Next chapter: a lot of Mericup cuteness! Should be coming up a lot sooner than this chapter did :)**


	31. He's Determined, Lord Help Us

**Chapter 31**

Hiccup stared at Maraud with calculating expression. Toothless sat next to her, a neutral expression on his face. Hiccup had asked him to not openly glare at Maraud—it made everyone else nervous. And no matter how comfortable the Scotts were with Toothless now, that could change in a split second, if the two Berkians gave them even the smallest reason to fear him.

"Why?" Hiccup asked suspiciously. Maraud stood in front of her, looking unusually under-confident. His hands were clasped behind his back, his shirt tucked into his wraparound kilt with a strange level of neatness, and not a tendril of hair was loose from his ponytail. His neck was bright red, and the color was beginning to creep onto his face, like frost.

If asked, Hiccup would deny feeling worried about the young Scott, but Toothless could tell that she was. And it annoyed him. The boy hadn't even apologized! Toothless barely suppressed a growl as Maraud stumbled over his answer to Hiccup's question. The prince had _hurt_ Hiccup! With an arrow! There was no way Toothless would let the two of them have any alone time without that apology. And maybe a little more. It had taken the boy a little too long to say sorry, and Toothless was not amused in the slightest.

"I-I, y-you're always in the forge," Maraud finally stuttered, "I was just wondering what was so special about it?"

"So you just want to come and see the forge?" Hiccup's eyes narrowed. She rested her hands on her hips, and felt the reassuring weight of the tiny sword on her hip. It wasn't for attacking, just defending. But it wasn't like Maraud knew that. She could've sworn she saw him swallow when her hand brushed against the sword. Toothless must've seen his reaction, too, because he started chuckling. Hiccup smiled at him.

"What do you think, Sweetie? Should we let him come with us?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and chuffed, looking to the side.

"Oh, don't be like that," Hiccup teased.

Toothless just sent one sharp sound out of his mouth, and Hiccup giggled.

Maraud didn't understand anything the dragon—Toothless—said, but Hiccup seemed to. All of a sudden, it made a lot more sense why she was able to understand 'Princess' McGuffin. If she could listen to animalistic growls, rumbles, and rolled eyes, and correctly interpret what they meant, then no wonder she would easily decipher what McGuffin's mumbled words meant. Maraud mentally shook his head. Hiccup. What an odd, beautiful little Viking. Maraud just wished she didn't despise him so much.

Hiccup and Toothless started walking out onto the plaza, and Maraud ran to catch up with them. When Hiccup didn't glare, or tell him to go away, Maraud cheered in his head. Physically, he only let out a sigh of relief. He saw Toothless's ears twitch at the sound. When the dragon didn't do anything, Maraud let himself relax a little.

Hiccup focused her mind on Maraud as they walked to the forge. He just didn't make sense. A puzzle always intrigued Hiccup, but Maraud seemed impossible.

At first, he was simple. The prince of Dunbrough was a brat. He cared for himself, and only wanted his freedom. He wasn't afraid to yell or fight for it, either. He was rude and aggressive, but at least there was some semblance of a reason behind his behavior.

Then, a couple of days before her father had docked on the shores of Dunbrough, Maraud had turned into an absolute troll. The only difference Hiccup could see was that he didn't steal her left socks (Not that _that_ consequence of trolls really mattered for Hiccup anymore, anyway. She was without a left foot, so she didn't really need any left socks).

But then, two days after her father had come to Dunbrough, Maraud had stopped his atrocious behavior and had started acting…like this. Like a lost puppy. It was almost as if Maraud had been depraved of love and attention his entire life, and now he could only find it with Hiccup.

He constantly asked Hiccup what she wanted to do, or where she was going that day. And Hiccup wasn't sure how she felt about that. Maraud was trying to be nice, and that was lovely. But he hadn't apologized to Toothless, the one he had tried to kill. In fact, Hiccup couldn't remember him apologizing to her, either. He might have tried, but in this case, the thought wasn't what counted. He needed to man up and apologize, like her father had. Until then, there was no way Hiccup could forgive him.

* * *

Hiccup laughed. She watched as Toothless lay down on the ground, getting climbed by three Scottish princesses. He was not amused, unlike Hiccup. She thought it was absolutely hilarious how the princesses tugged on every possible part of Toothless's body that they could, earning themselves warning growls, without a care in the world about their safety, as if they knew Toothless wouldn't harm them. She found it especially amusing that Maudy, their nurse, was running around inside of the castle, trying to find them, when the woman really should've known by now that the triplets were never where she looked.

For a while, Hiccup had been a little upset with the triplets for locking her in a dungeon with Maraud when they knew she was mad at her, but then she decided that she couldn't blame the triplets. Maraud had probably asked them to do it for her. And Hiccup knew: family came first.

"Toothless!" Helen giggled, "Fly!"

"Yeah!" Hilda agreed, jumping onto Toothless's back and jumping. "Up! Let's fly up!"

Hilary didn't say anything, but she clung to Toothless's tail and laughed uncontrollably. Toothless whined in exasperation and Hiccup took pity on her best friend's plight.

"Toothless doesn't usually fly until nighttime," Hiccup told them, catching Hilary as she slipped off Toothless's tail, "_Way_ past your bed time."

All three girls stilled and stared at Hiccup. Then, almost as if they had rehearsed, they started complaining all at once.

"Hiccup!"

"Why!"

"I don't need sleep!"

"You don't need sleep?" An unfortunately familiar masculine voice came from behind Hiccup. Toothless stiffened, and Hiccup bit her lip. Maraud was here. Oh, gods. Now what was she supposed to do? She had promised the triplets that she would spend an afternoon with them, and there was little chance Maraud would leave.

"Aye, Mara," Hilda said, her voice firm. "We don't need any such thing!"

Hiccup stayed silent, though she and Toothless exchanged a glance at the nickname. 'Mara.' Hiccup watched Maraud with careful eyes, wondering how he would deal with the feminine name.

"Sleep is a blessing," Maraud smiled, ruffling Hilda's hair, "When Mum starts waking you up at the most ungodly hours of the day, you'll be begging for more,"

"You don't think we need any sleep, do you, Hiccup?"

"Yeah, we can go on a ride with you tonight, can't we?"

Hiccup looked at Helen and Hilary and smirked a little.

"Sorry girls, but I think _Mara_ is right. You need your sleep,"

"What!"

"Hiccup!"

"No fair!"

Hiccup paid little attention to the girls and glanced up at Maraud, waiting to see the inevitable hue of red rising onto his face, a telltale sign of his anger. She had seen Maraud angry so many times that she knew every little thing to expect: the rising rogue on his cheeks, the darkening of his eyes, the clenching of his fists, the way his nostrils flared as his breathing rate increased. None of that happened. Actually, he did something completely unexpected: Maraud laughed.

"Not fair? What exactly would Mum do if we told her you didn't want to go to sleep?"

"No," Helen gasped.

"Mara don't you dare!" Hilary screeched, pummeling Maraud's legs.

"She'd make us go to bed even earlier!" Hilda moaned.

Maraud pulled Hilary away from him with a grunt.

"That's, right," he smirked. "So why don't we put this whole idea of 'not sleeping' behind us and do something else, instead?"

So that's what they all did, Hiccup and Toothless slightly grudgingly spending more time with Maraud. Still, Hiccup was, in a strange way, happy that she had seen this side of Maraud. 'Mara' as his sisters called him. And honestly, it was like he was a completely different person. He laughed and was patient and helped his sisters with a gentleness she hadn't known he could possess. It had been surprising.

But that still didn't excuse the way he had tried to kill Toothless, and then failed to apologize.

* * *

Hiccup's resolve was starting to crumble. Even if she didn't admit it, Toothless could easily see it in the way she spoke calmly with Maraud and let him hang around her that she was two kind words from completely forgiving Maraud. And Toothless was not happy. Not one bit.

It wasn't like he hadn't expected Hiccup's grudge to have such a tragically short lifespan; she was one of the kindest, most caring people in the world. That was part of why he was still alive. If she had been like any other Viking, Toothless would have been killed ten seconds after Hiccup laid eyes on him, vulnerable in the nets from her contraption. Her forgiveness was one of Toothless's favorite things about the little Viking. And also one of the most infuriating.

Of course, even if Toothless almost hated Maraud, there was no way he would attack the red-headed boy. If he did, the rest of the people in Dunbrough would be scared, then angry. And Toothless knew, when a large group of people grew afraid, they would quickly become violent. And Hiccup would be the object of their harmful actions. And no matter how it angered Toothless that the boy was growing in Hiccup's heart, there was no way Toothless would ever put Hiccup in harm's way to make a point.

So, he had to endure in a silent sort of seething as he watched the pair interact in the forge.

At first, Maraud had been obviously awkward. He had constantly stood in the wrong part of the forge, and had gotten in Hiccup's way, and had talked at the entirely wrong times, distracting Hiccup. Toothless had glared and hissed every time he had done something wrong, but, if nothing else, Toothless would credit the stupid boy with persistence. But he would call it stubbornness. The term made the quality sound worse than it was.

And Toothless was quite happy to make the image of Maraud worse than it was in real life. Because the more the boy hung around his human, the more Toothless was seeing those _tolerable_ qualities he possessed. Not that he was forgiving the Scott. In their partnership, one of them had to be good at holding grudges, and if it wasn't going to be Hiccup, Toothless was happy to oblige.

He glared at Maraud. This was the absolute last place he had wanted to be: alone with Maraud in the middle of the forest. It was clear from the look on Maraud's face, though, that he was determined about spending the afternoon with him. If seeing that look on Hiccup's face had taught Toothless anything, it was that he would absolutely not be winning this fight. Toothless had to spend an alarmingly short time convincing Hiccup that he was going to be fine before he had been dragged off by an overzealous red-head.

Toothless laid down, bored, as the prince boy stood in front of him, looking a little lost. Toothless closed his eyes, waiting for the boy to do… anything, really.

"Well, I suppose you can hear and understand me," was how the prince chose to start. Toothless snorted. His eyes snapped open and he glared at the prince in annoyance. Of course he could understand! He wasn't some stupid animal, like the one Maraud liked riding on, and taking Hiccup to ride on, as well. "And it wouldn't be too big of a leap for you to understand that I've… made some mistakes when it comes to Hiccup, and my treatment of her. From what I've seen between you two, she's the nicer one, and is on her way to forgiving me, and you're the only thing keeping her from doing so. I can't really understand you, but I can only guess that you're reminding her to keep a grudge against me. And really, if she were my friend, I would tell her the exact same thing."

Toothless tensed, sitting up. Friend? _Friend?!_ No. Hiccup was not only a friend. She was a companion, a partner, an equal. She was… family, and so much more. The simple term _friend_ insulted the bond the two native Berkians had, and Toothless took offence. Toothless bared his teeth at Maraud, silently willing him to do something stupid so he could have an excuse to attack him.

In the back of his mind, Toothless knew he was being a bit harsh. He understood that Maraud was trying to apologize, and that he was taking more insult to the term than he should have, but until the actual words of apology were out of the boy's mouth, Toothless. Would. Not. Like. Maraud.

"Woah, woah! Not friends, then?" Toothless grinned smugly as the young Scott scrambled backwards, hands out in front of him. As if his hands would be able to protect him if Toothless decided to attack. Maraud fell to the ground and Toothless couldn't hold back the chuckle he let loose. Maraud put down his shaky hands and frowned, his face starting to turn red. "What? Calm down, you stupid lizard! I don't make a habit of a-apologizing, and you're making this impossible!"

Maraud stood up again and blew a stray strand of his hair out of his eyes.

"Alright then, I'll just come out with it. I hurt her trying to hurt you. Right now, I'm not sure who to apologize to, but I'll start with you, seeing as you've got a bigger problem with me. So," Maraud sucked in a large gulp of air, "I'm sorry."

Toothless stared at Maraud as the boy stood, tense. His eyes squeezed shut, and his hands were clenched in fists at his sides. Toothless tilted his head to the side. What was the boy doing? It was just an apology, not a spell. Nothing magical was going to happen.

Except, now Toothless could let his grudge go. And really, he was getting a bit tired of it.

Toothless stood up and made his way over by Maraud. He flicked his tail over Maraud's face (lightly, so that he wouldn't leave a bruise. Hiccup would not be amused if she had seen one on his pretty little face) and continued walking into the forest. Why not explore. He needed to find a new 'Toothless and Hiccup spot.' And if he happened to find it with Maraud… well, at least he would have found one.

* * *

If Hiccup had known that she would get this worried about Toothless and Maraud, she would have never let them run off into the woods alone.

At the moment, she was sitting at the dinner table, fingers drumming against the thick wood of the table. The triplets were playing quietly while Maudy fussed over them. Her mum was sitting across from her, speaking with Fergus, but every so often, she shot Hiccup a comforting look, before looking around for Maraud. Stoic was next to Hiccup, also in a conversation with the king of Dunbrough. His hand loosely held onto the large war hammer at his belt.

Hiccup knew he didn't mean to make the servants nervous, and that her father just felt more comfortable when he felt his beloved weapon in his hands, but no one else did. Normally, Hiccup would have either told her dad that he was making people nervous, or exchanged a quick chuckle with Toothless at the awkward situation. But, nothing about the situation was normal. At least, not to Hiccup. This was the longest Hiccup had been without Toothless since he had helped her take care of Mordue at the archery competition (which she had won, by the way).

Hiccup kept looking towards the main door. Her fingers started tapping against the wood even faster. She just wanted to see Toothless's scaly midnight blue head poke through the doors. She wanted to see him safe and unharmed and maybe, _maybe_ not glaring at Maraud anymore.

The young Viking princess mentally sighed and rolled her eyes at herself. She shouldn't be forgiving Maraud. She shouldn't find his humor funny, or his uncertainty amusing. She shouldn't find his eyes alluring, and his crooked smile contagious. She shouldn't have spared the life of a night fury, either.

Before she could think on the headache inducing subject of Maraud any longer, the door opened, and Hiccup's head snapped to up. There they were: Toothless and Maraud. Neither harmed in any way, although Maraud looked a bit too relieved to be back.

The room went silent as the two found their seats. Toothless slinked to his usual spot under the table by Hiccup's legs. Maraud sat across the table from her, looking exhausted. Hiccup chuckled, she knew how difficult Toothless could be better than anybody. At her sound of amusement, the silence in the dining hall was broken, and the servants brought everyone their food, including a basket of fish for Toothless.

Conversations flowed across the table. Hiccup mainly spoke with Wee Dingwall and Young Macintosh. A few words were spoken with her father, reminiscing about Berk. There were even a few fleeting sentences exchanged with Maraud.

"So you really didn't know your brother threw the rock?" Hiccup giggled incredulously.

"No, I swear I didn't, or I wouldn't have done all that other stuff!" Wee Dingwall pouted while Young Macintosh laughed on Hiccup's other side. The tall brunette was about to say something, but was interrupted by Maraud's disgusted,

"Ugh!"

Hiccup turned to see what he was so repulsed by and nearly fainted. Her father seemed a bit shocked as well.

There was a slimy fish head on Maraud's lap. Maraud's face was getting red, and Hiccup knew he didn't understand what Toothless had just offered.

"Are you sure, Sweetie?" Hiccup asked loudly, making sure Maraud heard. "Isn't that kind of a big deal for you?"

"What exactly is a big deal, Hiccup?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, Toothless just offered his friendship. Now Maraud needs to swallow a bite and it'll be a done deal,"

Hiccup tried not to laugh at the squeamish looks on everyone's faces at the table.

"It's a Night Fury thing," she shrugged, "I did it, a long time ago." Toothless warbled at her, and Hiccup frowned. "It wasn't _that_ funny." Toothless chuckled, but snapped to attention when Maraud quickly took a bite out of the fish head and swallowed. Then he threw the head behind him and snapped,

"Yeah, yeah, now we're friends. I hope I never have to do that again."

Hiccup knew how much the fish head disgusted Maraud when he ate his haggis without a complaint. Her mum looked at Hiccup with a questioning look, and Hiccup told her that she really had had to have a bite out of raw fish to start their friendship.

She still wasn't exactly sure why it was a requirement for a friendship with a Night Fury. She had asked Toothless one day, and he had just gotten wide eyes and looked like a cornered animal. He had run away and not come back for about an hour. When he returned to the forge, he had acted like nothing had happened, and Hiccup had refrained from asking again.

The rest of dinner was uneventful after that, other than the fact that Toothless kept nudging Hiccup into conversations with Maraud. At least he forgave her fiancé.

* * *

Hiccup knew more than most that a broken relationship took time to go back to normal, or even slightly friendly. It seemed that Maraud knew that, too. After a few days of them dodging each other, occasionally having meaningless conversations at the dinner table, and generally acting like awkward children around each other, Maraud got that look on his face. The one Hiccup's mum took one look at and winced. He was determined to do something. And the world better watch out when Maraud's stubborn.

He pulled Hiccup aside one day when she was on her way back from the forge. Toothless had bounded inside, eager for his fish.

"Hiccup," Maraud said. Hiccup quickly studied him. His hair was tied up in its usual pony tail, and his skin was slightly damp. He had been sweating. Probably riding his horse and shooting arrows out into the sunset, or whatever Maraud did for fun. But, it did more than just provide amusement for Maraud. It gave him confidence. "I'm sorry."

Hiccup blinked.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." His voice was serious, and his eyes steadily held her gaze, but Hiccup could tell he was nervous. He had run his large hands through his hair before he had said anything, and his nerves were clearly visible in his crystal clear eyes.

"I-wh-why now? It's been… a long time." Hiccup chewed her lip, and Maraud sighed.

"You're going to make me say it?"

"You tried to kill Toothless, Maraud. You shot me in the leg. You yelled at me. And for a while, you were just plain rude."

All arguments seemed to fizzle out of Maraud as Hiccup listed off her list of grievances.

"_Now_ because… before now I was… a coward. But, being around you and then not being allowed around you has made me realize how much I… miss you," Maraud looked so uncomfortable, Hiccup almost told him she forgave him, and that he didn't have to continue. It seemed that Toothless knew what was going on, however, because he appeared out of nowhere and nudged her with his head and shook his head. No. She needed to hear this. All of this. "I know we won't be able to go straight into a care-free friendship, and we can't even think about any other kind of relationship, but I want us to try. I'm going to try."

Hiccup was speechless. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. She started smiling, and pulled Maraud into a quick hug before releasing him and nodding her head.

"Alright. I'll be trying, too."

And that's the back story behind why it soon became a normal sight for Dunbrough to see Maraud blushing while asking Hiccup to practice shooting arrows with him. At first, Toothless had just observed silently from underneath a tree, but soon he had gone up to Maraud and fixed his stance. It didn't seem like much to anyone but Stoic and Hiccup. Hiccup would always grin at Toothless and he would roll his eyes back at her, and Maraud would look on, confused. He didn't know that Toothless only helped people he liked. And no one really ever informed him of that fact, either.

* * *

There was no way Hiccup was going to let Maraud do all the heavy lifting in regards to helping their relationship.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted Maraud in the plaza. "You want to go with me somewhere today?"

"Yeah!" Maraud's eyes widened and a blush colored his neck. He coughed, and Hiccup grinned at his adorable display of emotion. "I mean, of course I'd like to go. Where?"

"It's kind of a surprise. I'm not really sure if we're supposed to go out there…"

"Those are my favorite words," Maraud chuckled as he swung his arm over Hiccup's shoulders.

They spent that afternoon outside of the wall, and Maraud liked how he didn't need to be a 'prince' with them, and how they didn't judge him. He decided that he needed to go out there more often. He informed Hiccup of his decision, and she just laughed. She invited him to join her out there every time she went out there. At least once a week. Maraud had beamed at her, and the image of his charming smile burned into Hiccup's brain. She played it over and over in her mind after her and Toothless's nightly flight. It was the last thing she thought about before she went to sleep.

* * *

Every so often, Maraud would invite Hiccup to take a ride on Angus with him. It was during those times that Maraud was the most himself. Hiccup found that she liked when he turned into his opinionated, free-spirited, and surprisingly funny self. Hiccup was surprised by how much she liked him, actually.

She liked the rides for more than just Maruad's untamed personality, however. She used Angus's rough gait as an excuse to cling as close as she could to Maraud and his extremely developed abdominal muscles. But she would never admit it, even if Toothless already knew.

Of course, as much as she liked the wild, uncut version of Maraud, she also enjoyed when he stumbled over his words or actions when he was trying to be considerate, or when he was trying to understand her.

She had asked her dad about it the first time he had asked her why she liked the forge so much. He hadn't confessed to anything, but Hiccup knew that her father was one of the major reasons her fiancé was trying so hard to understand her and grow up.

Honestly, things were looking up between the two of them. Hiccup was suddenly grateful for Maraud's stubborn attitude. If he hadn't been half as headstrong as he was, she probably would have still been angry and hurt at his actions, and she wouldn't have his witty, unedited personality in her life. The thought of life without him seemed oddly empty. And surprisingly, Hiccup wasn't afraid of her feelings.

* * *

**Firstly, to one of the guests reading my story: **

**Primero, lo siento para mi español. No estoy muy buena en hablar o escribir la linguista. Yo entiende mucho de lo que ecribiste, pero no sé ?qué significa ****'p****odrían haber algo de celos aunque sea un poquito siii?' Estoy sólo en el año de la classe de español tresciento, y hay muchos palabras cuál yo no entiendo. Una vez mas, lo siento. Pero, muchas gracias para estás leyendo a mi historia. Pienso que es muy genial que tú estás leyendolo, y no hablas inglés :)**

**Alright, now that I got that out of the way, this chapter. It was fun to write, and can you see the Mericup-ness getting back on track? Don't worry, it won't stay that way for too long. You know me, there'll be some sort of plot twist later on. Second, not edited, so sorry for abrupt subject changes, and/or typos and grammatical errors. **

**Next chapter—it's going to seem like a bit of déjà vu, but it needed to be done, and I'll explain why next time. Thanks for all the love I've been getting from y'all! More than two hundred favorites and follows, and almost that many reviews! I never thought this story would get that much love, and I have to thank y'all for sticking with me through the journey of this story. That doesn't mean it's almost done, though. This story is going to be forty chapters long. I know everything that needs to happen in each chapter, and I know a couple are going to take me a long time, so buckle up, because the ride's not over yet, not by a long shot. I'm hoping for like, ten reviews for this chapter, but if not, I'm just happy with the reads :) **


	32. Again!

**Chapter 32**

The atmosphere was excited and more than a little competitive. The people of Dunbrough had once again gathered in the normally empty field to set up the challenge. However, instead of Hiccup and the 'princess' McGuffin fighting for Maraud's hand, it was Maraud, Young Macintosh, and Wee Dingwall competing for Hiccup. Hiccup knew Maraud would win. She had chosen archery for specifically that reason. But, she found that she was actually…nervous for him. Because she actually wanted him to win.

She sat stiffly in the shade of a tent, wearing another traditional Scottish dress. It was light blue and the hems were embroidered with beautiful golden and white designs. Hiccup's mum had said she looked absolutely beautiful. She had looked so happy that Hiccup hadn't said anything about how difficult it was for her to feel comfortable in it. Or move. Or breath.

Hiccup tried to suck in another lungful of air, but the dress was stubborn and refused to let her. Hiccup bit her lip in frustration. Judging from the amused look in Toothless's eyes, he knew her struggle. And just her luck, he wouldn't do a thing to help her.

"You're lucky you don't have to wear this," Hiccup grumbled quietly, trying to discreetly stretch out the stiff fabric. Toothless chuckled. "Oh shut up." Hiccup pouted before the trumpets sounded, signaling the start of the challenge. Hiccup stopped squirming. She sat eerily still, back ram-rod straight, and eyes focused completely on the boys fighting… for _her _hand in marriage.

It was a strange concept for Hiccup. Back in Berk, the girls fought for the right to marry the boys. Not the other way around. She was oddly flattered. And it was especially nice that the challenge had precautions to keep the competitors from getting hurt.

Hiccup, the king and queen of Dunbrough, the chief of Berk, and all the commoners who usually lived outside the wall watched as Young Macintosh missed the bulls-eye on all the targets. They all witnessed his little tantrum as well. Hiccup didn't even try to suppress her giggles. She felt eyes burning into her, and Hiccup turned just in time to see Maraud stop staring at her. She felt a blush raise on her cheeks before firmly fixing her gaze on Wee Dingwall.

The short blonde did worse than Young Macintosh. That fact seemed to put the brunette in a good mood. As the blue-painted lad gloated about doing better than the him, Wee Dingwall casually tackled him to the ground and started biting his arm.

There was chaos for a few minutes as a few guards pried the two princes apart and kept them at a safe distance. Hiccup's mum sighed and rested her head in her hands. Hiccup gaped at the queen. Was that a regular occurrence?

Before Hiccup could question her mother, silence descended upon the decorated clearing. Maraud stepped up to the first target.

Hiccup watched as Maraud lifted the bow up and notched an arrow in place. His strong form tensed, and Hiccup found herself tensing, too. Hiccup could tell that Maraud was just about to let the arrow loose when Toothless snapped to attention. His form stilled until he was like a statue. He sniffed the air, zeroed his eyesight into the woods, and shot off in that direction.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called after him, knowing the only reason he would act that way. Stoic tensed on Hiccup's left side.

Maraud relaxed his form, and the clearing turned deadly silent, as if everyone was holding their breath. The stillness in the air lasted a beat before it was interrupted by a large growl and a roar of pain.

Hiccup shot up out of her seat, muscles tensed, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She knew that growl. Mordue. More importantly, she knew that screech of pain. That was Toothless. Toothless was hurt. Hiccup saw red. Mordue. Hurt. Toothless.

Hiccup reached to grab a quiver of arrows, but her dress restricted her movements. Out of her peripheral vision, Hiccup saw Maraud and her father arm themselves quickly and head cautiously towards the forest, along with the rest of the upper class men. Her mum was doing her best to calm the masses down and getting them to evacuate the area.

Hiccup heard a few people protest, wanting to make sure that she was okay, and heard them demand she come with them, to safety. Hearing that, Hiccup started struggling even more. She knew that in her present condition, she wouldn't be able to fight the masses off, and they would drag her away from Toothless. And Toothless needed her. There was no way she could abandon him. Not now, not ever.

_Rrriiippp!_

Hiccup would feel bad about ruining the beautiful dress later, after she had saved Toothless's life. Hiccup ran forward, being nowhere nearly as cautious as the men who were still slowly creeping towards the woods. She couldn't believe them! They could clearly hear the sounds of the fight Toothless was in!

She pushed through the men, grabbing Wee Dingwall's quiver of arrows as she went past him. She had seen him shoot with all the concentration and time in the world. The arrows would do him no good. Then, Hiccup ran towards the woods.

Hiccup barely registered the fact that Maraud started sprinting the second she ran past him. She also sensed her father running closely behind Maraud. But Hiccup couldn't think about them at that moment. The only person on her mind was Toothless.

* * *

Maraud isn't exactly sure what happened in the forest. All he knew was that one second he was following Hiccup into the dark density of the forest. He remembered being extremely impressed by her balance and speed, even with the prosthetic.

Then, they had seen Mordue. His glowing red eyes glared at them through the darkness of the forest. Frothy slobber dripped from his disgusting maw. Even though he had seen the beast before, Maraud's steps faltered.

Hiccup's father, however, did no such thing, and Maraud had witnessed where Hiccup had gotten her bravery from.

Mordue had charged at the three of them, but Toothless had smashed the large beast out of the way. Hiccup had run towards Toothless, and then the real battle began. Maraud had shot arrow after arrow at the beast, Chief Stoic darted in and out of the beast's range, slicing and hacking at it with his enormous battle axe, and Toothless and Hiccup would keep it from charging at the two of them.

The system worked for a while before Mordue decided to change the odds a little. He charged head-on at Toothless. It happened so suddenly that the large reptile didn't even have time to fight back before he was shoved through the foliage, and back into the clearing, where the rest of the armed forces were.

_Cowardly pigs, the lot of them,_ Maraud thought sharply before he realized that he had no more arrows to loose.

As he scrambled for his sword, which hung on his back, Maraud took a moment to observe the battle. Men were scattered about, occasionally daring to get close enough to the demon bear to throw a javelin at it before retreating. Cowards! Hiccup was riding atop Toothless. Arrow after arrow she shot at the beast, and Maraud's breath was stolen from his lungs.

Her copper hair was getting dark with sweat and sticking to her skin. Her lips were cracked, and the seams of her dress were ripping apart. Blood was splattered on her, and Maraud hoped to the heavens that it wasn't hers. Her eyes were hard and she focused on the beast in front of her, trying to bring it down. Maraud thought that he'd never seen anyone look so beautiful.

Maraud finally got his sword off his back and rushed into the fight to help his fiancée. Because Maraud was going to be damned if anyone said he hadn't won the challenge.

* * *

Hiccup was getting desperate. She had just run out of arrows, and was now stuck to using only her little sword, which was mainly intended for self-defense against humans to fight off a monstrous, cursed bear. And, to make matters worse, she and Toothless were both injured, and were tiring out. And they weren't the only ones. The rest of the men helping to fight the bear were slowing, and Hiccup knew it was only a matter of time before the bear realized it and used their exhaustion to its advantage.

Just as the bear was about to sink its teeth into Toothless's foreleg, a spear caught the animosity in the side of the face, and it turned its attention onto Hiccup and Maraud's fathers. While she was worried for them, Hiccup was thankful for the reprieve and took the moment to think.

She looked down at her small sword and back at the hulking monster.

"Toothless," she gasped out. "Time to get it to retreat. Ready? One last time now."

Toothless instantly tensed and shot forward. He stopped centimeters away from the bear, and Hiccup used all of her remaining strength to plunge her little sword—more of a knife, really, compared to Astrid's swords—into the bear's thick neck, corded with muscle.

Hiccup's arms trembled as she forced the sharpened slab of iron into the bear's flesh. Her abdominal muscles clenched with the effort needed for the action, and her wounds gushed with more blood than before. She could see black creeping into the edges of her vision, and from how Toothless hobbled on his legs, she could tell he was in a similar stat of being.

The bear roared in pain, and with the last of their effort, Hiccup and Toothless screamed back at it. The bear unsteadily ran back into the forest. All the fighters were too wounded and tired to go after it to finish the job, even though it was in such a weak state.

Hiccup didn't have enough energy to worry about that, though. The darkness finally took over her vision. She felt herself slump on Toothless's back just as he fell to the ground, as well. For a brief second, Hiccup wondered how the Scottish were going to get both her and Toothless back to the palace. And then the darkness consumed her consciousness.

* * *

**So, I'm sure everyone's getting a slight sense of déjà vu since this is similar to the last challenge scene, but there's a reason for that! I wanted to show how much of a very real danger Mordue was for the people in this story. I know in the movie he was more of a scary story, and the real bad guy for the people seemed to be bears in general, but I wanted the bad guy in this to be Mordue. I wanted the people to have a lot of reasons to hate him and want him dead. So, I ended up just… repeating myself a bit.**

**I felt bad for taking so long to update my last chapter, so this one came up faster. Hope the quality didn't go down because of that. I'm sorry if it did, I've seemed to forget what editing even means at this point. So if some parts seem a bit rambly, or if some ideas seem to repeat themselves or whatever, I'm just so sorry. This chapter took me like, twenty minutes, and I was like: 'Time to publish!' I tried to make Maraud seem a bit more Scottish in this chapter, but there wasn't a whole lot of talking, so I'm not sure if it was very noticeable, but eh. What can you do? **

**Next chapter: short one, so I'm not even going to summarize. Also, thanks for that one guest for translating that Spanish! I probably won't be adding any more jealousy into the story, but we'll see. From here on, I'll be having a countdown! 8 MORE CHAPTERS! I'm hoping for three reviews for this chapter, btw. Thanks for staying with me and reading this story, y'all are honestly the only reason why I've even kept writing it this far :)**


	33. Pacing

**Chapter 33**

Maraud couldn't remember the last time he was so worried about someone else. Never, he didn't think. Before, he had only cared about his own wants and needs. And when those wants or needs didn't get fulfilled, he threw a tantrum, swinging his sword against his bedposts until they threatened to break and his mum had to get the carpenter to make him a new bed.

Thinking back to his behavior from back then, Maraud temporarily paused his pacing and stared out in the air for a moment, cringing. He quickly shook the thoughts away, however, and his thoughts returned to the woman he was worrying about. The woman who interested him and kept him on his toes. The woman who made his blood boil and his heart sing in happiness. The woman who made him… care about people other than himself and his family.

The woman who was gentle and patient, yet had proven time and time again that she was not to be messed with. The woman whose life was now in danger because of that thrice damned demon bear!

Just the thought of Mordue set Maraud on edge. He could feel the blood shoot straight to his face as he grit his teeth and clenched his hands. He ran his hands through his tangled, curly hair once more, not even caring about the greasy roots anymore. He turned on his heel and started the four steps in that direction.

Before, his father's annual bear hunts for the monster seemed so much more appealing. Of course, there had been attacks before, but never had someone Maraud cared about been hurt. Other than, obviously, his father, but the missing leg was simply a part of his father, now, not a missing piece. Much like Hiccup's leg.

At first, it had been very odd to see such a petite girl sporting such a grizzly wound, and Maraud had been certain that it had been a birth defect. But now that he'd seen her bravery in action, and how she hadn't seemed too out of her element in violent situations, he was certain that it was more than that. Her leg—or lack thereof—was a battle scar. A permanent show of character and strength.

Maraud slowed his pacing and thought about her. His beautiful, clever fiancée. Always giving him heart attack after heart attack.

First, it had just been her mere existence. His mum had barged into his room one morning and announced that he found him a fiancée, and she was a Viking, so if he offended her, they would have an island full of large, angry, fierce Scandinavians massacring them all. And so he had officially gotten engaged.

Then he had seen her in the woods. She had seemed like a spy, so he hadn't exactly been the most welcoming. But then she had disappeared and reappeared on the boat with the Vikings, and Maraud had almost convinced himself that he had imagined her. But now that he knew about Toothless, her sudden appearance on land and reappearance on the ship made a lot of sense, even though it had scared the living daylights out of him when it had happened.

And then, of course, there was her dragon. Her partner. Because from what Maraud had seen of the two, the dragon was in no way Hiccup's pet. Toothless had been giant, leering, and terrifying when Maraud had first met him. But after all the…. Negative emotions shared between the two of them, Maraud realized one thing they had in common: Hiccup. They both cared for her.

The fact was painfully obvious when Toothless was concerned. The bond that the reptile and the woman shared seemed unbelievable. Hiccup understood Toothless in a way Maraud didn't understand anyone—human or not. And it s went both ways. Toothless understood Hiccup. That had been the only reason for him to try to make nice with Maraud. And, he was fiercely protective of her, as well. He had just almost died for the girl! In fact, that was why they were _both_ lying down behind the closed doors of the infirmary right then. Hiccup could've let Toothless fight Mordue by himself alongside the men, but she didn't. She ran in right after him and fought with him, arrow after arrow, sword strike after sword strike.

At first, after the long process of bringing the two of them into the castle, the doctors had tried to separate Hiccup and Toothless, to examine them separately. However, as soon as they were situated in neighboring rooms, the two wouldn't lay still. They would squirm and call out in heartbroken voices. Never names, but everyone could tell they were seeking the other's company. They stayed like that for almost an entire day, their wounds reopening and them crying out in pain louder than before. The entire day, Stoic had glared disapprovingly at all the doctors. That night, the two had been moved back into the same room, and they hadn't been moved apart for the past five days.

Those five days had been absolute hell for Maraud. He could hardly eat, hardly sleep. He was restless and yet always tired. He didn't even remember going back to his room for anything, or bathing, even after the battle with Mordue.

All he remembered was getting checked for his paining shoulder, having the doctor relocate the joint, and then waiting in the room adjacent Hiccup's. His mum had been there for quite a while as well. She had really started loving Hiccup like her own daughter, and Maraud could see her fear and worry carefully covered by her tried and true mask of neutrality.

She had finally been forced away by Maraud's da a few days ago, and hadn't come back. Maraud assumed she had queen stuff to do, or whatever it was that his mum did all day long. He didn't really care. All he cared about at that point was Hiccup. But he wasn't even allowed to see her and it was so frustrating!

Growling lowly, Maraud clenched his fist before smashing it into the wall, hissing in the pain it gave him, and then relishing it. The pain in his now bleeding knuckles was nothing compared to the other emotions he was feelings. The strongest of which was frustration. All he wanted was five minutes (just five minutes) to see if she was really as okay as all the doctors had assured them that she was.

Call him paranoid, but Maraud didn't believe until he saw. He needed to see her face, even if it was pale; he wouldv'e loved to see her freckles stand out against her pale skin. He wouldv'e loved to see her body, just to make sure she was safe, even if it was covered in stale blood and bandages; he would've loved to see her.

Anything would be better than being forced to stay in an isolated room, knowing she was so close (just through that one, flimsy wood door) and yet so far (he shuddered to think what his mum would do if she found out he went against the doctors' orders of leaving Hiccup and Toothless along to rest and heal).

But mostly, Maraud wanted to talk to Hiccup. He missed her dry remarks, the way she understood his vastly unappreciated sense of humor. He missed the way he could make her laugh until she was leaning on him for support because she couldn't stand upright by herself. He missed hearing her thoughts on things, and arguing with her when they disagreed about something. Over the weeks he had known her, their arguments had gone from grudging, angry arguments, to bantering wit-filled things which left a warm feeling in Maraud's chest every time he thought back to them and everything both of them said.

Maraud screwed his eyes shut and remembered the way the demon bear had looked when it had swiped at Hiccup, and Toothless hadn't been fast enough to dodge. The two of them had gotten hit. There had been blood. So much blood. But it had been like neither of them had even noticed. It once again made Maraud wonder about how Hiccup had lost the bottom half of her left leg…

But that was for a different time. When he had nothing to worry about except getting to know his fiancée better than he already did.

Maraud's mind went back to Hiccup, lying helplessly on that bed there, all because of that _bear_. And Maraud used the term lightly. It was more like a monster; no natural animal was like that. Maraud seethed._ His _fiancée was hurt, _his _family was put in danger, his people were forced to fight. He just wanted… to _kill_ it.

Maraud blinked. What if he did? What if he killed the monster? What if he did it for Hiccup? Then she'd never have to worry about the bear ever again, and the two of them could move on with their lives, with _each other. _Oh, that sounded like a good plan. Now all he had to do was tell her, she would give him her blessing (hopefully) and then he would be off on his endeavor.

Once again Maraud found himself looking longingly at the door to Hiccup and Toothless's room. He felt a pair of eyes burning holes into the back of his head, Maraud turned to see the chief staring at him. At least he wasn't glaring.

"Yer not the first man I've seen looking like that," Chief Stoic said after a small pause. "In fact, I was like that meself, for my wife one night,"

Maraud turned slightly, looking at Stoic. Anything, to get his mind off Hiccup and the state of her health.

"What happened to her?"

"She died."

Now the chief had all of Maraud's undivided attention.

"I'm so sorry, Sir,"

"It's been many years," the chief grunted. "I have Hiccup now to look after, and my village needs her chief," Maraud walked closer to the chief and sat next to him, waiting for the older man to continue speaking. "But I'll never forget that night," the chief's voice was soft, and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

"It was _dark,_" the chief stressed. "And the animals were everywhere. Our entire village was fighting them. The animals used to be quite a big problem, for our people, before Hiccup went and befriended that lazy lizard, or course."

_Maybe one of them took off her leg…_ Maraud thought idly.

"One of them got into our house. My Valka… my beautiful, brave, Valka. She ran straight there. I didn't even notice she was gone. She was focused only on our Hiccup. She got to the house, and protected her little girl with a fire fitting a true Viking.

"When I finally got there, she was on the ground in front of Hiccup, only a babe back then. Blood was all around her. And in front of her was the carcass of the dead beast. That had been Valka's first kill. And her last kill.

"I took her and Hiccup to the healer, and she tried everything she could all day, but it was useless. The wounds were too many and too deep. We sent her off to the Valkyries the next evening."

Maraud stayed silent in respect for the fallen warrior woman. So that had been Hiccup's mother. No wonder she was as brave as she was.

"You know," the chief said, still staring into space, "I still remember the thoughts I had that night. I wanted to speak with her, to hold her hand, to have her in my arms, safe from the world.

"I wanted nothing more than revenge. I wanted to kill all the beasts. Every. Single. One of them," The chief's voice hardened. "And when she died, I craved nothing else than to join her. But I had Hiccup. My little girl. I had to raise her, to keep her safe," Stoic's eyes came back into focus, and he breathed out a bitter laugh. "Not like I was able to do that, either, eh?"

Maraud pursed his lips and thought for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Maraud said first. Then, cautiously, he said, "Not to be rude, Sir, but telling me that—were you aiming to make this easier? The not knowing? The craving to be next to her? To protect her?"

_Because it did almost the exact opposite. _

"No." was Stoic's simple answer.

Maraud stood up. He started pacing again.

* * *

**So I'm on vacation and I this is what I do when we're in our hotel room. Hope y'all are happy! Next chapter: Maraud tells Hiccup about his plan, some stuff happens, and then there's a little bit of magic. Anyways...**

**213 reviews! 242 favorites! Almost 300 followers! Dang, I did not expect this sort of reaction AT ALL when I started writing this story! Thanks all for following this for so long and liking what I write even when I don't. Oh my gosh, y'alls response makes me want to write this more than I would've otherwise. Only seven more chapters, then it's all done, guys! For this chapter, I'm hoping for at least four comments, and that would be great! As always, thanks sooo much for all the support :)**


	34. Arguments and Magic

**Chapter 34**

Maraud glared at Hiccup and fumed in silent fury.

At first, when he had heard she was up and talking, he had been overjoyed! He had jumped right out of his bath, hair still slightly soapy, clothes stuck to his wet skin, and ran to her. And then he had started talking to her.

It hadn't been so bad in the beginning. Hiccup had smiled at Maraud, causing his breath temporarily pause halfway out of his lungs. She had been lying on her bed, looking bored out of her mind until he had walked in. Toothless had been dozing at the foot of her bed. He wasn't asleep, though. Maraud had seen his large eye open slightly to examine him before the lizard shut his eyes again and settled in to sleep once more.

The conversation had started lightly.

"Maraud," Hiccup had said, slightly breathlessly. Maraud had excused it with the fact that she was probably still recovering. Didn't she look a bit paler than usual? "You're okay," Hiccup beamed, and Maraud walked up to her, not even thinking before putting his hand on her cheek. The second Maraud realized what he had done, he felt his cheeks burn, and his eyes widened. He moved to remove his hand, but Hiccup gently kept it in place by putting her own hand over his.

"Everyone got away unscathed. You and Toothless, however, have been in here for about a week now. Mum was worried. Your da was worried. Hiccup… I was worried," Maraud confessed the last bit silently. He braved his soul, however, and kept staring into Hiccup's beautiful green orbs.

"Y-you were?" Hiccup questioned, and Maraud smiled at her. Of course he was worried. But he wouldn't be saying it again. Instead, he changed the subject. It needed to be done.

"Hiccup," Maraud took a deep breath. "People have been talking. Attacks like this have been happening for years, I'm sure you know. But now, Mordue's weakened. We're sending in some people to get him; to kill him." Maraud looked at Hiccup. She looked like she knew what was about to come out of Maraud's mouth, and it looked like the thought horrified her.

"Maraud… don't tell me you-"

"That _thing_ almost killed you, Hiccup," Maraud seethed, remembering the blood seeping out of Hiccup as she fought the demon bear. "I'm going out there, and I'm going to kill it. You won't be in any more danger,"

"But then you'll be in danger," Hiccup had frowned. "Maraud, please, don't do this. Stay."

And things had gone downhill from there.

And now, Maraud glared at Hiccup and fumed in silent fury. They were still arguing. It had been fifteen minutes. But it had felt like _so much _longer.

Maraud remembered pacing outside of her infirmary room, reminiscing happily about their arguments. Never again! Maraud just felt like ripping his hair out! She was just so… so _stubborn! _And she had the absolute nerve to call him strong-willed! Never in his life had Maraud met someone as stubborn as Hiccup, and that was saying something, considering who his mum was.

But honestly, she was a Viking. A blood-thirsty Norse. Vikings, by definition, were stubborn. It was in almost every single text about them. Why should he have expected Hiccup to be any different?

So what if she was petite and funny and smart? So what if she was gentle and kind and hard-working? So what if every time she so much as breathed in his direction Maraud felt flutters in his stomach? So what if she was amazing in every single imaginable way? She was a Viking, and she was stubborn. But two could play the 'stubborn' game.

"I'm coming on the hunt with you, Maraud!" Hiccup fumed.

"No!" Maraud argued. He gestured towards the foot of her bed. "Toothless is still injured-" Maraud ignored the unamused huff of air from the foot of her bed, "-and hell, you can't even walk! The doctor _just_ allowed visitors in here!"

"So you're going off what those twigs say? I've been ready for human interaction for _days,_ Maraud. Stop being so blind! The only reason I'm not up and in the smithy right now is because no one will give me my prosthetic back! I'm perfectly fine and you're just being stubborn."

Maraud didn't know that her prosthetic had been taken from her. For a moment, a new wave of anger surged through him. But this time, it was for Hiccup. How dare they take away her freedom? At it wasn't something Maraud had ever had taken from him, and now Hiccup had had it taken from her twice. Whatever accident took away her flesh and blood left leg, and now some arse of a doctor took away her forged, metal one. When Maraud got his hands on the doctor responsible for this act of shame..!

Maraud shook the thought away, as difficult as it was.

"Oh, I-_I'm _being stubborn? _You're_ being stubborn!" the response was juvenile, Maraud knew, but he was nowhere near as witty as Hiccup.

"I'm standing firm for something I believe in, Maraud," Hiccup snapped, sitting fully upright, muscles tense, brows furrowed. "You're just being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn!" Maraud internally winced at the hard edge in Hiccup's voice.

"I am standing firm in what I think right!" Maraud defended himself. Before he could elaborate, explaining to the beautiful warrior-princess in front of him that he just wanted her to be safe, and for her to think him worthy of her, she cut in.

"You _believe_ in freedom," Hiccup's voice took on a tone of desperation. "How is taking away mine sticking up for what you believe in?" Hiccup voice broke, and so did a little bit inside of Maraud. Confused by the amount of pain he experienced from just that sentence, Maraud turned and left the room. He needed a ride on Angus; that would fix everything.

Before he left the castle, he cornered the doctor and commanded him to return Hiccup's prosthetic to her.

* * *

Normally, the fresh scent of the forest, the wind flowing through his hair, and the gratitude he felt from his multiple bulls-eyes calmed Maraud down. It would especially help if Angus was running with a jerky gait—like he currently was.

But for some reason, it wasn't working today.

"Probably another side effect from that damned princess," Maraud muttered bitterly. "Stubborn. _Me?_ Ha. Bet she's never looked herself in a mirror before."

Why did she have to be so stubborn? She didn't _have_ to go anywhere to kill that demon bear. What was it about the way she thought that made her act this way? Just because she was a damned Viking didn't mean anything! She was injured, and she was Maraud's and she was damned irritating when she put her mind to it.

"What a stubborn little-" Maraud was cut off when Angus suddenly stopped, bucking his hind legs to keep his balance, unfortunately ruining any balance Maraud had on his back.

"Angus!" Maraud gasped out, lying on his back. He distantly remembered Lying face down with Toothless on his back, however, and stopped his griping about an aching back. He'd definitely been through worse. Maraud sat up and turned to face Angus. He called out louder, in aggravation, "Angus!"

But Angus wasn't even looking at him, instead opting to gaze just behind Maraud. And he was backing away. Maraud furrowed his brows in confusion before turning to see what it was. When Maraud finally caught sight of what Angus had seen, he gasped.

The blue little orb of light called to Maraud. _Come_ he heard in his mind. So he did.

Slowly, he stood up and went to the little light. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angus nervously following him.

"Nothing to worry about, Boy," Maraud absentmindedly soothed, "Just a little wisp. A will-o-the-wisp."

Maraud vaguely remembered his mum telling him about those very creatures. He had always dreamed about following them to his fate—one full of adventure and excitement and freedom. But he had found Hiccup without them. What else could they possibly lead him to?

Still, Maraud followed the wisps, finding one after another, slowly leading him to a small cottage in the middle of the forest. Maraud proceeded cautiously, not exactly sure what could be in there, but what could possibly be worse than Mordue?

* * *

"And you're sure this will work?" Maraud asked the odd little witch in the woods. "If I give this to my fiancée, she'll change the way she thinks? It'll change her fate?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that, little prince. Just make sure she eats it, and your wish will be granted!"

Maraud slowly walked out of the cottage, not paying attention to the muttering witch behind him. She waved him good-bye, telling him that his wood carvings would be arriving at the castle within the next two weeks.

Maraud mentally shook his head as he mounted onto Angus, clutching the small, yet magical tart safely in his hands. He would give it to Hiccup, she would eat it, and then she would accept his decision; she would accept his feelings for her. Then, he would kill Mordue, and she would beam up at him and hug him (maybe even kiss him if the tart was especially powerful). And then they would get married, he would keep Wee Dingwall and Young Macintosh away, and they would have their happily ever after.

Hiccup's and his own happiness rested innocently in Maraud's hands. He clutched it just a little tighter.

* * *

**So… what'd y'all think? I'm a bit impressed, since I finished it this morning, but only got a chance to upload right now. One thing though: I NEED HELP COMING UP WITH CHAPTER TITLES! If anyone has any ideas about the last three, I'd happily accept suggestions better than what I put up. On the topic of jealousy: there isn't going to really be any of that from here on out. There will be other stuff, though, which I think most people can guess from this chapter, lol.**

**So, next chapter: the repercussions of Maraud's transactions with the witch, and some people get mad at Maraud…again. After that... SIX CHAPTERS LEFT!**

**Not a lot to say about this chapter, other than most of it was done late at night or early in the morning. Just, favorite, follow, review, and I'll try to put up the next chapter soon! I'm hoping for like, six reviews for this chapter, btw. Till next time, y'all, thanks for all the love :)**


	35. Repercussions

**Chapter 35**

Maraud wasn't exactly sure how he got into the situation he was in right then. To summarize: he was running with four bears through the woods, trying not to be found by a hoard of angry people and one furious and mourning dragon.

Turns out that if someone turns into a bear, people will assume that the bear they turned into ate them. Go figure.

* * *

It had started when Maraud went to see Hiccup. She had been given her prosthetic back (Good. If she hadn't gotten it back, there would've been words, and most likely fists, exchanged). The Scottish prince had been told by a shaking doctor that the Viking princess had gone back up to her room, while the dragon was still in the infirmary, sleeping.

So, Maraud had taken a few moments to make the tart look presentable. He placed it on a tray with a few flowers, a roll with butter, and a cup of tea. He knew she liked to have her sweets after some food and tea. Then, he had carried the tray up to her room. On his way up, Maraud had passed his mum, who had beamed at him after she saw the platter and the direction he was headed in. Maraud had merely rolled his eyes at her.

"Hiccup?" Maraud had called out, knocking on her door. She opened it, and invited him in. Maraud set the tray on her bedside table, taking a minute to take in her appearance. She looked good. Really good.

Her hair had been washed, and it smelled good. Fragrant and soft-looking, Maraud barely stopped himself from running his hands through it. Maraud also realized that this was the first time he had seen her hair out of a braid. Her eyes looked brighter than they had before, her face was a lot less pale than previously, and she had recently changed her clothes, so they didn't smell like stale blood anymore.

"Y-your hair looks nice," Maraud stuttered, and cursed himself for it. Hiccup looked confused. She reached up with her hand and felt the hair lose around her shoulders. Her eyes widened in horror and a blush covered her cheeks. It looked adorable, Maraud thought.

Quicker than Maraud thought possible, Hiccup had her hair braided over her shoulder, and she was avoiding eye contact with him. Maraud sighed.

"How are you feeling?"

"G-g-better than before," Maraud felt better about his stuttering after Hiccup did it, too. "Want to sit?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the comfortable chair she had just moved in front of her bed. "I think we need to talk."

"Yeah," Maraud nodded. Both stayed where they were for a second.

"Do you want to sit on the chair?" Hiccup asked, and Maraud could tell she was forcing herself not to smile.

"Oh! Right, yeah. Yeah, I'll just—"

Maraud sat on the chair, and Hiccup sat across from him, on her bed. She sighed.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I was just sick of being in the infirmary. Vikings don't usually stay with healers longer than two days, no matter how bad their injuries are," Hiccup got a faraway look on her face and she giggled slightly, "I remember when Gobber got his hand bitten off. It was the first time I had been put in charge of the forge. He woke up four hours after the surgery, and when he was told that _I _was in charge of his beloved forge, he had high-tailed it out of the healer's hut." Hiccup giggled as Maraud stared, slightly horrified, slightly in awe. Were missing limbs that common among Vikings?

"Uh, it's fine," Maraud struggled with an appropriate response to Hiccup's slightly morbid story. He had his hand… _bitten_ off? And Hiccup laughed? When Maraud's da had his leg bitten off, the healers had insisted he stay in bed for weeks. And his da had readily agreed. Those had been the most memorable weeks in Maraud's childhood, considering his da's hands-on approach to life. The lack of a limb had really been a strike to Maraud's da. Had it been different for Hiccup? "If… if it's not too much to ask, what about you?"

"Hm?" Hiccup asked. "What about me?"

"Your… your leg. How long until you were up and walking?"

"Oh." Hiccup seemed surprised Maraud had even asked. "I had been out for a about a week, but that's because…" Hiccup looked distinctly uncomfortable before she continued, "of complications. I was tiny, and I went through a lot to lose my leg. Anyway, I don't know, probably a few minutes?"

"That's all? A few… minutes?!" Maraud spluttered, completely in awe of his fiancée. So strong, so brave, so beautiful. Did he even deserve her? Probably not.

"Yeah, Toothless helped me out of my house, and then we went flying." Hiccup recounted, like flying was an everyday occurrence for most people. It wasn't.

"Oh…" Maraud said, and the two moved into an uncomfortable silence. There was an elephant in the room, and Maraud subtly eyed the cake on the platter he had brought. He swallowed. He had to make sure he needed the cake. "Have you thought on what I said before?"

Hiccup put down the tea she had been sipping, and her face was guarded. Maraud internally groaned. He knew that face by now. This was going to be one long conversation.

"I just don't understand why you don't want me going."

"Because you'll probably be the one to down Mordue!" Maraud said, trying to keep his calm.

"And what does that matter? Is it because I'm a girl? The big, bad men can't let me get the kill? Who cares as long as it's dead?" Hiccup questioned before taking another long sip of tea. It was herbal. Really calming, Maraud had heard from Maudy.

"No!" Maraud stood up, running his hands through his hair. How was he supposed to explain this? It was… embarrassing. "If you kill it, then… _I _want to kill the bear! I need to!"

"Why? Maraud, just give me a reasonable explanation and I'll leave the topic alone! But until I get one, you're just keeping the girl from going out and killing the monster!"

"I'm not trying to _change_ you, Hiccup!" Maraud exploded, rounding on her. Then he stopped. That's right. He wasn't trying to change _her,_ just the way she thought. So that she could think more like him.

The Scottish prince made a show of sighing his aggression away and taking the tea out of Hiccup's tensed hands. He picked up the little tart and a fork. He handed them to Hiccup. At her bewildered face, Maraud explained,

"I came up here to try and make peace. I made a peace offering. All by myself," Maraud mentally cringed at the blatant lie.

"You did?" Hiccup seemed surprised and slightly touched. Maraud made a mental note to really make her a tart in a few days. As a celebration of the death of Mordue.

Hiccup had taken a bite and that's when things had started to go downhill.

* * *

Maraud wasn't really sure about details, but long story short:

Hiccup had turned into a bear. As they tried to sneak away, Maraud's sisters had discovered the three of them. Maraud had bribed them with sweets to get them to help the two of them sneak away for help. They had disappeared for a while, and on Hiccup and Maraud's way out of the castle, they had heard Toothless's devastated roar. Hiccup had roared back at him and ran to where he was, completely blowing their cover. Toothless had, evidently, thought that bear-Hiccup had eaten human-Hiccup, and was now hell-bent on killing bear-Hiccup. He had even gotten the Bear King and all the other Scotts and visiting royals to join in on the hunt. It had been at that moment that Maraud's sisters—who had basically disappeared up until that point—showed up again, but as bears.

Maraud had freaked out, seeing four of the most important girls in his life being held at spear-point because of his own mistake. So he had thrown a rock at the back of Maudy's head (thank the gods that she had been walking by at that moment) and she had screamed bloody hell to high heaven, giving the five royals enough distraction to make a break for it into the woods.

And now, Maraud couldn't stop worrying. His da, his clan, the Macintosh clan, and the Dingwall clan were all going after bear-Hiccup because they were convinced that she ate _herself_. And to top it all off, Hiccup was in a deep depression because her best friend/brother hated her with a passion. She had to rely on Maraud—the person who had gotten her into this mess _in the first place_ to her to safety. And Maraud couldn't even remember which way the witch's cottage had been!

Maraud sniffled slightly as he sat down on a rock, and blamed the moisture in his eyes at the light drizzle falling down from the skies, as if the heavens were crying for Maraud's situation, too.

A croon brought him out of Maraud's pity party. He flinched when a when nose nuzzled into his face, followed by two others. Maraud looked up and saw his three sisters trying to find their comfort with him.

Maraud looked up and saw Hiccup trying to find a comfortable way to sit without falling. Maraud hadn't even noticed in the panic, but Hiccup was three-legged in her bear form. And she had made her prosthetic for a human girl. For now, she was pure muscle, claws, and teeth. And all two thousand pounds of her were being held by three legs.

Maraud took a deep breath and stood up, unwillingly holding up his sisters, too , because they clung to him. It was time to end his pity party. He could feel bad for himself when Hiccup found out it was him who turned them all into bears. And knowing her, she definitely would.

Right now, Maraud had to take them all to the witch, get the whole 'bear' business sorted out, then he had to take them back to the castle, explain everything, and then he had to face Hiccup's wrath. But he would gladly take all of it, as long as she was human.

"Alright," Maraud said to Hiccup. "Let's fix this mess, huh?"

Hiccup groaned at Maraud, since she had just successfully sat down.

"Sorry, Dear." Maraud sighed, then immediately turned around and started walking in the direction he thought might be the way to the witch's cottage. His face was on fire. Had he really said that out loud? After he had turned Hiccup into a bear? He was an idiot, through and through.

But he could focus on that later. At the moment, he had a job. He had to protect his girls. Hilda, Helen, and Hilary would follow him to the ends of the earth.

They might've pranked him countless times, and he might've got them put under house arrest once or twice, but they were still siblings, and they loved each other. Hiccup was another story all together.

"We're going to see a witch," Maraud narrated to the open air, trying to end the stifling silence. Hiccup moaned behind him, and Maraud spun on his heel, tense, ready to fight off whatever danger there was.

There was none. Hiccup had just been trying to get his attention, pointing him in a new direction.

"Hiccup, this way," Maraud tried to go straight again, but Hiccup was stubborn. Maraud just sighed and followed her. The sooner she saw she was wrong, the sooner Maraud's plan could get started.

Hiccup didn't give up until they made it about half a mile past the circle of ancient stones. By then, Maraud was starting to feel a sense of familiarity with the environment. He was about to push forward in front of Hiccup and show her and his sisters the way to the witch, but he paused.

Hiccup had gotten them this far. How? He would never know. But, he accepted that she probably knew what she was doing, probably better than he knew what _he_ was doing. So Maraud ignored the ego which got the girls turned into bears in the first place and followed his fiancée. She led them right to the cottage.

"Alright," Maraud muttered as they stood in front of the cottage. "Now all we've got to do is go in there, tell the witch our little problem, have her fix it, then go back home and fix all the other stuff wrong in our lives. Easy enough."

Hiccup must've heard what he had said, even though Maraud had tried to be quiet about it, and let out a bear-like chuckle. Maraud grinned silently to himself in satisfaction. He had turned her into a bear and she still thought he was funny. Though, she didn't exactly know that wee bit of information.

* * *

Maraud sat miserably on a rock. So, he would have to re-think his plan. Turns out the witch wasn't home. And Hiccup had been in the cottage when he played the message the witch had left for him.

_Fate be Changed_

_You can Heal It_

_Unite the Lovers_

_Torn by Secrets_

Fat lot of good that prophecy would do for them all. Toothless was as close to a lover as Hiccup had, and he was hell-bent on killing _bear-_Hiccup, so it wasn't like Maraud was about to let Hiccup anywhere _near_ the dragon. And anyway, it wasn't like she was jumping to listen to him.

Hiccup was smart. Maraud had known that for practically the entire time he had known her. So, as soon as she had finished listening to the recording the witch had left for Maraud, she had walked outside, sat on her haunches, and watched. She watched as Maraud cursed the witch's name, opened and slammed the door shut numerous times, and almost set his hair on fire by mixing all the liquids into the cauldron.

When he had finally given up and sat down by her, she had glared at him. And that was when Maraud knew. She knew.

She had then rolled herself back onto her feet and grumbled a few things to Maraud's sisters, who also turned back and glared at him.

Maraud rolled his eyes. Spare him the scorn of women. He had enough on his mind. The cat was out of the bag, so they weren't very inclined to listen to him, even though he was probably the best chance they had at becoming human again.

Maraud huffed and rested his face in his fists, sitting uncomfortably on the mossy rock. He blew some of his hair out of his eyes in frustration. At least things couldn't get much worse.

And then it started raining. Of course.

* * *

**I tried not to use the whole 'skip forward in time and reflect on the past to get the information' cheat this chapter. I mean, I really tried. But... I'm on vacation and I got lazy. Anyway, I like the way the chapter turned out. I'm sure if I went back, there would be tons of things I could refine or make more clear, but as I've said before, I'm not an editor anymore. The word is dead to me. **

**So, what are y'all thinking about Maraud right now? I tried to make him seem really likeable this chapter- how did I do? Do y'all hate him again? Or have I succeeded in making him a likeable bad guy? Next chapter: adventures with Maraud and bear-Hiccup and bear-triplets! A few scary realizations on Maraud's part. **

**I was hoping for about six reviews for this chapter, if it's not too much to ask? Y'all have been absolutely amazing! Too many favorites, follows, and reviews for me to even remember the numbers anymore! I love it! *heart-eyed emoji* FIVE MORE CHAPTERS! (For the mathematically challenged, that means there's a total of forty chapters). Wish me luck for the next chapter, because I didn't give myself too much structure or guidelines when I was writing my outline, so it's going to take a while for me to push it out, sorry! I love you all, though :)**


	36. She's a Bear

**Chapter 36**

Hiccup huddled in a make-shift shelter that she and the triplets had made while Maraud had sulked on a rock. Honestly, Hiccup wasn't sure how he allowed himself to drown in self pity. _He_ hadn't been turned into a bear. _He _hadn't been forced to walk around on three legs. _He_ hadn't seen the furious, blood-thirsty look on his best friend's face; and _he _hadn't had that look directed at _him._

But Hiccup had. And she was devastated. The one person who had always had her back was now Hel-bent on tracking and killing her. And the only person stopping that from happening was the person who had _turned her into a bear!_

Maraud's words from earlier echoed through Hiccup's brain just as clearly as the rain outside.

"_I didn't want her to change you into a bear!" _he had argued. Then his tone became hesitant and quieter. _"I just… wanted to change the way you think about going after Mordue. Believe me, Hiccup, I only wanted to ensure your safety," _Maraud had run his hands through his hair. His voice grew louder again. _"If you went after it, you would've died! I wanted you kept safe! Away from harm!" _

Again and again the words went through Hiccup's mind, as repetitive as the raindrops dripping off the tree branches. Helen, Hilda, and Hilary had fallen asleep almost an hour ago. Hiccup had absent-mindedly been watching Maraud hunch into himself as the rain chilled him to the core. He was shivering.

Slowly rising, Hiccup made her way over to him. She moved to wake him up, but he had fallen into a fitful sleep. Even in his sleep he was making things hard for her. Hiccup grumbled, but it just sounded like a muted growl in her bear-like state.

She gently moved Maraud's body onto her own and brought him into the little shelter. She lumbered over to the entrance, keeping the three small girls and Maraud safe from the cold and the rain. She pulled them all closer to her body heat to warm them up. She waited until Maraud was no longer shivering before she allowed herself to sleep. It had been such a trying day. The darkness of unconsciousness was a welcome constant as compared to the changing challenges of the day.

* * *

Maraud woke up the next morning surprisingly warm and dry, and surprisingly not sore. His eyes flickered open and his brows furrowed. Since when were there roofs in the middle of the forest?

A bear-like sound came from Maraud's right and his head snapped in that direction. His sisters were already awake and eating. Hiccup was sitting right next to them. Her left stump was left out in the open, and Maraud cringed when he saw it. The fur around the appendage was mottled and the exposed skin was a bright pink and raw-looking.

Maraud swallowed and looked away.

Hiccup called out to him, a deep bear bellow. Maraud turned to look at her, fearing her wrath. Instead, she was offering him food. He cautiously took it, wondering how exactly they had gotten all the fish they did.

"How did you get all this fish?" Maraud couldn't help but to ask. His sisters were young, and Hiccup… was a bit handicapped.

Hiccup huffed as she stood up, and Maraud's sisters followed. Hiccup stood still in the middle of the river not too far from their little campsite. One of his sisters stood by her left hind leg, pressing up against it every once in a while to give Hiccup a sense of balance. One of Maraud's other sisters was still on the shore, close to the water. And the last of the triplets was by Hiccup's head, close to the little cub on shore.

Maraud watched as Hiccup leaned against the little cub by her leg before pouncing forward, scooping a fish out of the water, attempting to catch it in her mouth before she lost balance and fell forward in the water. Luckily, Maraud's other little sister was where her mouth had been, and she caught the fish before struggling to take it to shore. Once there, Maraud's other sister helped her keep the fish pinned to the ground as Hiccup stood up and went back into her original position with the help of Maraud's third little sister.

They worked together so efficiently they were like a well oiled machine. No doubt Hiccup's brilliant mind had come up with that ingenious system. Maraud shook his head as he ate the cooked fish in front of him. He couldn't believe that he had wanted to change such a beautiful mind. Well, he had changed it, in a sense. It was now a bear's brain.

The witch's ominous warning was still spinning through Maraud's head.

_Fate be Changed_

_You can Heal It_

_Unite the Lovers_

_Torn by Secrets_

What did it mean? Normally, Maraud would've asked Hiccup. But she was a bit… well, she was a bear. She couldn't speak. Still, couldn't hurt to ask. Especially since there was a nasty 'three days' time limit he seemed to recall the witch giving him. If Hiccup didn't get fixed by tomorrow, she was going to stay a bear forever. It would probably be best if he kept that little bit of information to himself, though.

"Hiccup," Maraud called out nervously. She slowly lumbered over before falling to the ground in front of him, finding a comfortable sitting position. Maraud winced at the shaking of the ground. "Did you hear what the witch said yesterday?"

Hiccup tilted her head to the side, so Maraud recited the prophecy, or whatever it was called.

"Fate be changed/ You can Heal It/ Unite the Lovers/ Torn by Secrets."

Hiccup rumbled deep in her throat for a second. Maraud watched as his sisters played in the little clearing in front of them as Hiccup thought. Finally, she pushed her nose against Maraud's knee for his attention.

She pointed to something on the ground that she had scratched into the dirt, and Maraud nearly face-palmed. Of course! It was so simple! _Unite the Lovers. _

If Hiccup and Toothless didn't love each other, then Maraud didn't know what love was. The only problem was Toothless thought that the bear Hiccup turned into had killed Hiccup. How were they supposed to get Toothless to accept Hiccup and love her without him…killing her?

"Alright," Maraud breathed out, running his hands through his hair. "Small issue. He sort of hates you right now. Any plans on getting him to see that you're… you?"

Hiccup looked down sadly and let loose a sound so sad that Maraud felt his own heart break for the woman in front of him.

"Don't worry," Maraud said, leaning forward to look into Hiccup's eyes. "We'll get through this. Together. I promise, Love."

Before Maraud could blush due to the second slip of his tongue in two days, Hiccup started changing. Not drastically. Just enough. Her muscles loosened, and her attention was suddenly only on the food behind her. But the worst part was her eyes. They turned into a deep brown, and looked as soulless as a common pig's. Unintelligent. Uncomprehending. Dangerous.

Hiccup, for a few moments, became a real bear. Maraud blinked. He stepped towards her cautiously.

"Hiccup?" he questioned, keeping his arms to himself. Hiccup was still in there. He had two more days. She couldn't be gone today! "Hiccup!" he yelled at her. The bear turned to him, and he saw the empty look in its eyes. Maraud stepped back in fear. The bear lifted its upper lip, growling at him. The silence coming from the left meant that the triplets had turned to see what was wrong with Hiccup. "Snap out of it, Love!" Maraud shouted, trying everything to bring his Hiccup back.

It took a while. The bear walks around for a while, leading the Dunbrough siblings through quite a bit of forest, but eventually Hiccup's eyes soon turned back to normal.

Hiccup shook her head when she had completely regained control over herself. She moaned out a question to one of Maraud's sisters. Hilary, if Maraud had to guess. Hilary started answering, but Helen cut in and Hiccup listened. She looked at Maraud after they were done and growled out what sounded like an apology, along with a sincere look in her eyes.

"Let's just start—" Maraud was cut off when he saw blue orbs once again calling to him in the forest. Maraud wanted to glare at them and then turn away. The last time he had listened to the stupid little things he had gotten Hiccup and his sisters turned into bears. He wanted nothing else to do with them. But, they were magic. And their magic called to the magic in Hiccup. Maraud and his sisters followed.

The five walked for what seemed like hours, until they finally reached the foot of a steel hill. It was so tall that it could have been mistaken as a mountain. It was there that the triplets' bravery ran out.

Maraud and Hiccup placed the three vulnerable little bears into one of the bare trees that surrounded the foggy mountain. Once the triplets were comfortable, the two intended young people looked to each other, silently asking for and giving courage to the other. Then they steeled their nerves and followed the wisps, each breath marked them getting just that much closer to their fate. Each step took them just that much closer to danger. Hiccup had felt this way before, many times. As she tensed, so did Maraud.

The triplets watched, anxious, as their two protectors disappeared in a sea of fog.

* * *

**So, the writing quality is pretty crap, and for that I apologize. I realize that this chapter is a little boring, but I just wanted it to be here. The next chapter takes a little bit of a time skip, so don't be too confused when you start reading it.**

**Speaking of the next chapter: Mordue shows up, a little bit of a movie scene, and the five break into Dunbrough. Also, Toothless, Fergus, and the villagers make appearances. **

**Oh my gosh, guys! So many reviews, I feel so loved! And so many favorites it's amazing! I didn't even know 249 people **_**read**_** these types of stories! And 297 people are following this story, and it's absolutely amazing! For this chapter, I'm sort of hoping for seven reviews, just to give me a little bit of confidence to finish this story. Today is the last day of my vacation, so there's probably going to be a wait until I finish the story, even though THERE'S ONLY FOUR CHAPTERS LEFT! AHH! **

**Again, this story wouldn't have gotten this far without all the support y'all give, thanks :)**


	37. Caught

**Chapter 37**

Maraud wasn't too sure about what to do. On one hand, the wisps brought him and Hiccup here, so there had to be _some_ reason behind even contemplating snooping around the underground hollow. But, on the other hand…

Maraud looked behind him. Hiccup was right there, looking around, alert. Maraud couldn't shake the feeling of this not being new for her: being in a dangerous situation. And for some reason that absolutely aggravated him to no end. All he wanted was for her to be safe and not go after Mordue. Honestly, hindsight was 20/20 and now Maraud realized that her going with a giant group of armed men was so much safer than her being a crippled bear and being hunted down _by_ a giant group of armed men.

Maraud sighed. Yeah… he really threw everything into a giant rubbish heap, didn't he?

"Should I… go in?" If there was one thing Maraud learned, it was that Hiccup was smart. He trusted her. And while he knew he didn't deserve it, he hoped he had Hiccup's trust, too.

Hiccup just stared at him with her deep, soulful green eyes, and blew out a jet of her warm breath into the air.

"You're out here alone, Hiccup," Maraud observed. "Or, you will be if I go in there. And my sisters… we don't even know where Mordue is."

Hiccup limped over to a rock and used it to help support her weight as she stood up on her one hind leg. She was massive and dangerous and she would never hurt Maraud the way Maraud had hurt her. The Scottish prince felt his breath leave his body as something familiar flowed through his veins. Determination. He would make it up to her. He would turn her back into a human and he would look after her and then they would live the rest of their lives together. Happy.

"The wisps led us here," Maraud mumbled. "There has to be something… something _important _ in here."

Hiccup fell back down onto her three legs and made her way over to Maraud. She shoved his stomach lightly in the direction of the dark cave. Maraud looked into her eyes. He was no Toothless, but if he had to give a guess as to what she was trying to say, it would be,

_If you think there's something important in there, then go look. I'll be here._

And Maraud felt a warmth grow in his chest. He smiled softly and placed a hand under one side of Hiccup's jaw. Her eyes widened and she made a startled noise. Maraud chuckled quietly and turned to go into the cave.

He dropped down and took in all the crumbled stone and slash marks. He felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the eerie voices of the wisps calling to him. The first time he had seen them, he had been with Angus. And a few moments ago, Hiccup had faced them with him. But suddenly, alone, Maraud knew he had made some kind of mistake. Anything which could show you your fate could also destroy it. When had it ever been said that the wisps were good? It had just been known than they were fae. And most fae were not the friendliest of creatures.

Their soft voices echoed around the cave while Maraud cautiously crept around, trying to find anything of value. His bow was out and ready, arrow notched, muscles tensed.

"_Look,"_ A wisp invited softly. Maraud swallowed and ignored it, looking around. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and Maraud suddenly felt a chill that wasn't just from the mist of the mountain. _"Look!"_ This time the wisp ordered him more forcefully.

Almost as if he were controlled to do as it said, Maraud spun around and studied the wall in front of him. He saw the tomb, cracked and old, but the designs were still legible. A voice in the back of his mind nagged at Maraud. It was his mother.

Maraud just barely held in the urge to roll his eyes. He was on a mountain, with his fiancée who had been turned into a bear by a witch, and the wisps were surrounding him and telling him to leave, and Mordue was still a real threat, but his mum and her history lessons were the scariest thing that were haunting Maraud at that point.

"Legends are lessons," his mother had once said. "They ring with truths."

The story she had been talking about ran in quick succession through Maraud's head. His eyes widened. Mordue. He wasn't just a bear. He was cursed. He had made a deal with the witch, too. And he had turned into _that_. What if Hiccup turned into the same thing? And even if she didn't, what if she turned into a bear, permanently?

"Oh, no," Maraud breathed. "What have I done?"

"_Go!" _The wisps intoned, sounding urgent. _"Death!"_

Maraud's heart started pounding and he felt eyes staring into him from the darkness. He quickly turned and pulled his bow taut. There was something in there with him. And it wasn't anything friendly, he was willing to bet.

Two eyes started glowing from the darkness, and though they looked like they were miles away, Maraud felt like they were too close.

Hiccup bellowed up from where she was, and Maraud knew he was in real danger. And if he was in real danger, then so were all of his girls. He needed to get out of there, and get them to safety.

"Hiccup!" he called. He started running to the pile of rocks. He needed to climb up it and get out before whatever it was that was lurking in the shadows decided Maraud wasn't threatening enough to hide from.

Unfortunately for the worst fiancé the world had ever seen, the creature in the shadows happened to be Mordue. And even worse for the Scottish man, Mordue was done biding his time and hiding.

Maraud felt his hands start to get cut up and the wetness from the blood made it hard to climb, but he kept pushing. He didn't like putting his back to the unknown creature in the dark, but judging from Hiccup's frantic roaring, it was something bad.

From behind him, Maraud heard a loud roar, and his entire body froze. Oh no. He knew that screech as well as he knew his own sisters. Mordue. He was in a cave with Mordue. And he couldn't get out.

He felt something catch on his leg and Maraud got pulled back. He felt the scratches burning at his muscles, but Maraud didn't have time for that pain. Hiccup roared from her vantage point. Maraud notched his arrow and quickly fired it at Mordue, but it only seemed to annoy the beast. Maraud ran, trying to outmaneuver the hulking monstrosity, and found himself behind the broken tomb. Maraud fired arrow after arrow, each one hitting its mark, and each one failing to so much as hinder the beast.

Maraud was out of options. He felt his instincts rise up in him. Fight. Flight. Fight. Flight. It was just like when he had first seen Toothless. Except now he knew that Mordue was going to kill him. And it didn't seem like he could run away.

The prince's bright blue eyes flickered back and forth, trying to think of a way out, but Hiccup was one step ahead of him. She held a paw out for him, urging Maraud to jump. She would catch him. At least, that seemed to be the plan. And Mordue only gave him a split second to make the choice, since the demon bear was already rushing at him.

Maraud leapt up onto the tomb and used all his momentum and muscle to vault himself towards Hiccup, but the second he was in the air he knew he didn't just high enough. He was going to miss and fall and then he was going to get mauled to death by Mordue.

Fortunately, Hiccup had also recognized the problem and adjusted accordingly. She reached out further and lower. She somehow managed to use her large paw to grab onto Maraud's forearm and pull him out of the cave, the wisps still inside, screaming.

Maraud was shaking. His knees trembled and he found it hard to breath. His thigh stung from where Mordue had grabbed him, and although she had saved his life, Hiccup's large claws had slashed into his arm. Blood was started to cover his body and it stuck to Maraud like a second layer of skin. But he had no time to gripe about that. Hiccup. He had to save Hiccup. And if Hiccup was cured of her curse, Maraud was sure his sisters would be cured, too, seeing how the curse was originally meant for Hiccup.

"W-we n-n-need to go-o," Maraud hated how he stuttered, but Hiccup wasn't one to judge, and he felt like he had a valid reason to be this shaken up. The rocks inside of the cave started to shift, and the two royals could hear Mordue's enraged roars.

"N-now!"

Maraud tried to run alongside Hiccup, but almost quicker than he had the thought to do so, Hiccup was pulling him onto her back. She ran like there was no tomorrow, using gravity to help them go down faster. Maraud clung to her soft fur, feeling her hard muscles shift and contract beneath his body as she ran.

"Here's where we told them to hide," Maraud said before climbing off of Hiccup as quickly as his quivering body would allow. His excuse was that it was cold and he was losing blood.

"Hilda! Helen! Hilary! We need to go now! Mordue is here, no games!"

Almost immediately the three of them jumped down from the tree and landed on Maraud. He groaned, but smiled at all of them. His sisters. He would sooner die than see them getting harmed. Hiccup's large mouth grabbed the back of Maraud's shirt and she pulled him onto her back. Then she started to run again.

All the way back to the castle, Maraud kept his ears open for the sounds of Mordue following them. He held his sisters close, whispering reassurances into their ears as they clutched onto his clothes. A few times their claws dug into his skin a little, but Maraud didn't mind. He was hanging around bears, no matter how human their minds. He was bound to get hurt.

He was more worried about Hiccup, to be honest. He could hear her labored breath, and could feel the way her muscles seized every time her body dipped from her missing hind leg. Maraud knew it was unnatural for a bear to run without the fourth leg, but what choice did they have? Hiccup only had a few more hours before she permanently changed. And it wasn't like she had all the time in the world as a human to build a bear a leg-brace.

But he couldn't think about that right then. He had to get into the castle, find Toothless, explain the whole situation to him, and then get him to reunite with Hiccup. That was the only way to fulfill the antidote/prophecy. Maraud wasn't really sure what to call it. He was sure Hiccup had a word for it, but he would have to turn her back into a human to learn that word. But… if there was one thing Maraud knew about Toothless, it was that the stupid reptile could keep a grudge like no one else. And if he had a grudge against the bear he thought had killed Hiccup… the stupid flying dinosaur would never listen to him! By the gods, Maraud was doomed. And by extension, so were Hiccup and his sisters.

Maraud was snapped out of his thoughts as Hiccup stopped, then all but collapsed. In an instant Maraud was off her back and tugged the girls off her back, too.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" he crouched by her massive head. "Come on," he whimpered. "Not now. Not now! You are not giving up now! We know how to cure you, we got away from the danger. You don't get to give up!" Maraud went from sorrowful to seething. "Now get up and we're going home!"

Hiccup opened one of her eyes and studied him. Maraud's red cheeks and trembling fists were indications to how angry he really was. Hiccup grinned. At least some things never changed. Hiccup moaned softly, then pointed her snout straight ahead. Maraud jerked his head in that direction, hands immediately on his weapons. Hiccup huffed in amusement. What an obtuse little prince. But he was her obtuse little prince. At least, he would be if she stopped being a bear.

"Oh." Maraud cleared his throat. He caught Hiccup's eyes. She was still amused. Maraud's fists were unclenched and were rubbing his neck and playing a little with the lose hair around his neck. His cheeks were still flushed, but Hiccup figured it was just because he was embarrassed. "We, um… we're here. Ah… sorry, Love."

Then he stood up and started creeping closer to the walls, trying not to be seen by anyone. Hiccup laid very still on the ground. That was the third or fourth time Maraud had called her that, and her heart still stopped, then started thudding abnormally loudly in her thud. It would have been painful, but it just made her cheeks heat up. She was sure if she had been a human, her cheeks would have been the same color as Maraud's fiery, curly locks.

Hiccup discreetly shook her head. No. Not now. She had too many things to be worried about right now; she wouldn't allow herself to think about the way she felt towards her fiancé. Not now.

"Hiccup," Maraud's deep voice came from her right and Hiccup internally shuddered at the way her name sounded in his rumbling, accented voice. "We have a problem."

Immediately Hiccup was on alert. What was it? More bears? Those creepy little blue things? Mordue?

"There's guards on their posts at the gate. And they're not asleep." Maraud looked towards the gate, worried. Hiccup rolled her eyes and scoffed. _That's _what he was worried about? She had an easy solution. She started walking to the right, calling behind her in her raspy, bear voice for the triplets to follow her. If they followed her, Maraud would be sure to follow.

"Where are you going?" Maraud jogged to keep pace with her lumbering form. Hiccup just snorted. He'd have to wait and see.

It didn't take long until the five of them reached the secret entrance Hiccup had discovered with one of the village boys a few weeks ago. They hadn't meant to come upon it, but at that moment, Hiccup wasn't feeling very repentant about finding it.

Hiccup used her weight to smash the heavy door in and told the triplets to get on her back so they wouldn't drown in the fairly deep, disgusting water. In a few moments she, the triplets, and Maraud were all creeping through the plaza, into the castle.

"Alright," Maraud sighed quietly as they walked into the castle. "I'll take you to my room, then I'll find Toothless, explain what's going on, bring him to you, and then everything will be fixed. We're almost out of the weeds, Dear."

Maraud didn't look at Hiccup before he started creeping up the solid stairs. They went down a number of deserted hallways and passages, and Hiccup couldn't help but think that she wasn't feeling all that great. But it wasn't like she could complain. She was sure Maraud was exhausted, too. She could see the bags under his eyes.

The lights seemed to flicker for a second. Hiccup shook her head. She would get to rest for a little while as Maraud went looking for Toothless. She would be fine.

Maraud silently crept along the halls in his home. He could tell Hiccup was following him by the heat radiating onto his back. Only a few more…

And then suddenly Hiccup wasn't there. Maraud spun on his heels. Where did she go? How could he lose an entire bear!? She was massive!

"Hiccup!" Maraud hissed. "Hiccup!"

He saw her lumbering shadow in the next door hall and ran there, pulling on her when he reached her. His thigh and arm burned at the action, but he could always look after his wounds later.

"Hiccup, my room's this way!"

And then the bear turned its massive head to look at Maraud, and Maraud let his grip on the bear slip. It wasn't Hiccup. It was… just a dumb beast. And Maraud had apparently angered it.

"Oh no," Maraud moaned. "Hiccup, not now! We can't have this right now!"

The bear just turned and loomed over Maraud. The prince set his sisters onto the ground and told them to hide. Then he turned and tried to high tail it back to his room. Unfortunately, he could not make it.

"Maraud!" His da called from just up ahead. Maraud froze. "Don't think I can't tell you're there, Lad,"

"Da!" Maraud called, quickly rushing towards his da, trying to push him back down the hall. "You need to leave!"

"Listen, Lad," Fergus sighed heavily. Maraud mentally pleaded with his da to hurry up. Hiccup was _coming_ and it would only be a matter of time before she caught up with Maraud, and then Fergus would see the bear and the whole already doomed-to-fail plan would fail! "We know you've been taking it hard since Hiccup… met her fate, but this isn't healthy. You stay in your room all day, not eating, not talking to anyone…"

"Da!" Maraud cried, trying again to push his da backwards. He could _hear_ Hiccup's approach. "You _need_ to leave!"

"What's the matter, so—" Fergus cut himself off. Maraud slowly turned his head, praying to every single being he could think of that Hiccup wasn't behind him. She was. And she was just regaining her consciousness by the looks of it.

"Oh, no," Maraud moaned.

"Maraud, run!" Fergus roared, charging at Hiccup. Maraud got in his da's way, giving Hiccup a little bit of time to escape. Maraud needed to re-think his plan.

"No! Da! That's not just a bear, that's Hiccup!"

"Maraud, now is not the time for delusions!" his da snapped at Maraud.

"It's not a delusion! She was turned into a bear by a witch, and if I don't get her little dragon to learn the truth and accept her, she'll be stuck like that!"

"Maraud!" Fergus roared, but Maraud didn't back down.

"No!" He stood his ground, straightening his shoulders and clenching his fists. "I'll not let you harm my fiancée!"

Fergus didn't grace his son with a response and instead simply grabbed the cuff of his collar and threw him back into his room.

"Da!" Maraud yelled like a complaining child. "Da!"

"Stay there, Maraud! We'll avenge your would-have-been wife."

Fergus ran after Hiccup, and Maraud heard him calling to the men in the house, telling them there was a bear. And that they were going to kill it.

"Hilary!" Maraud yelled, slamming against his door. "Helen! Hilda!" Maraud slammed his hand flat against the wooden door. "Get me out of here!"

A few seconds later Maraud heard something clicking against the metal lock on the door.

"Tap three times when it's unlocked." Maraud said. Soon enough the three small taps came and Maraud pulled the door open. His three sisters stood in front of him, alive and whole. In a rare moment of sentimentality, Maraud leaned down and hugged his three sisters.

"Good girls." Maraud smiled, kissing each one on top of their furry heads. It wasn't too different than kissing the tops of their real heads. All that hair. "Alright," Maraud sighed, standing up and straightening. His leg was starting to throb, and the scratches on his arms were itching. "Now we just need to get out of here, explain everything to Toothless, go save Hiccup, and then undo the curse. Simple."

Well, it would have been simple enough. Maraud turned to start his search for the large reptile. But Toothless made it so much easier for him. The flying menace was at the end of the hallway, in the shadows.

"Toothless!" Maraud called out, starting to run to him, but Toothless had other ideas. The dragon growled so loudly that Maraud felt the stones beneath his feet vibrate. Toothless's eyes were fixated on the three small bears which clung to Maraud's calves, and his eyes were full of fury and disdain. Oh, no. Well, there was only one thing Maraud could really say.

"Well, shit."

* * *

Fergus rode his son's horse, leading the rest of the men in the castle out towards the forest. Chief Stoic had refused a horse, easily keeping pace with the horse. His rage and sorrow gave him the energy to do so, and Fergus felt the anguish that was so easily visible on the Viking chief's face. The best way to feel better was by getting justice for his daughter. Fergus looked up. The sky looked like it was going to rain, but nothing—especially something as trivial as the weather—was going to stop Fergus from avenging his poor almost-daughter-in-law, or Stoic from killing the bear which killed the only family he had left.

"Men!" Fergus called back to the men he was leading. Stoic stood tense by his side. "Come on, now! We're on a hunt! What do we do?!"

And with those simple words, the entire company of men started chanting their hunting song, the chief quickly catching onto the tune, even if he couldn't sing the words, since they were in ancient Gaelic. The rest of the men sang their part in the ritualistic song, which promised good luck in their hunt. Fergus started them marching forward again, Stoic right at his side. A light dusting of rain fell upon all the men. Still, Fergus felt Stoic's burning need for the blood of the bear which killed Hiccup. The three-legged bear. How ironic that the three-legged girl be eaten by a crippled bear.

"King Fergus?" Fergus stopped the horse he was mounted on, and both kings turned to face the man on the ground. A commoner.

"Aye. Is there anything you need, Sir?"

"Where might you be going, Highness, on such a dreadful night?" the commoner asked in his commoner slur.

"There's a bear," Fergus's voice was hard. "We're hunting tonight." Fergus saw Stoic's knuckles turn white from his grip on his war-weary battle axe.

"What?" the man seemed shocked. "Highness, please! You can't go about killing every animal out there just for sport! Call in Hiccup! She lives in the walls, she'll tell you! It shouldn't be done!"

"I would call in _Princess_ Hiccup," King Fergus stressed her title. The commoner stumbled a little, and Fergus momentarily wondered how the commoner even knew Hiccup. "But she's dead," Stoic winced, and Fergus felt his own brows furrow in sorrow. "The bear we're hunting is the one that killed her. Now. Get out of our way!"

Fergus turned Angus to go around the commoner, but the man ran to Fergus's side.

"Highness, please! Wait just a moment! Hiccup, er… Princess Hiccup has become a real part of our village, even though we've only known her for so long. Two minutes, Highness, and you'll have the support of the entire village!"

Fergus hesitated for a moment, checking with the chief before nodding his consent, starting the mental countdown. Every second they waited, the farther the bear got. And it had already gotten quite the head start from Maraud being a right pain in Fergus's a—

"We're ready, Highness." The commoner said, leading a group of men, armed with pitchforks and fire.

"Men! Tonight we hunt!" Fergus called out, once again. "What do we do?" And the eerie hum of the men's voices drifted into the forest, barely louder than the now steady rain, warning the animals inside of the men's intentions.

Fergus coaxed Angus into the forest, his eyes blazing. That bear better be ready. There was no way it was going to survive after that night.

* * *

**Well... thoughts? Honestly, I kind of forgot this part of the movie for the most part, so I'm kinda just relying on my questionable memory. Honestly, a guy selling 'sugar' out of a trench coat in a dirty ally at night is more reliable than my memory. So if this doesn't exactly line up with the movie… well, none of the rest of this fanfic does either.**

**ONLY 3 CHAPTERS LEFT! Was it just me, or did this story just seem to zoom by? **

**On my updates, or lack thereof: I get kinda lazy ( in case y'all haven't noticed) so… I'm just sorry. I'm kind of hoping for 300 reviews by the end of this whole thing, but fifty reviews for four chapters is kind of a lot to ask for, but here's to hoping because all of y'all are just so dang awesome! Also, special Shout Out to BusFullofLlamas and Brave20123 because I sort of maybe forgot about this story until I read their reviews, lol. So thanks.**

**Ok, so if I do a sequel (probably not, because sequels are always so much worse than the original—ex: all the 'Taken's, 'The Pirates of the Caribbean's, Pocahontas 2, The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2, Spiderman 2, etc.) it'll just be… well, I'll explain later. But to the Guest who wanted a sequel about Maraud meeting Hiccup's friends, he already has. They don't have a lot of scenes together in this book, but look at chapters 4 through like, 17. **

**Again, y'all are awesome! I'm have favorites and followers galore, and I'm in like, four communities which is kind of amazing! I have about 250 reviews, and I'm hoping to get that number up by next update! Y'all don't even understand how much those reviews have pushed me to even write this much of this fanfic. I was honestly probably only going to write until Hiccup and Toothless fought against Mordue that one time in the competition and give up there before I realized that people like this story enough to like, comment and follow and favorite this, and stuff… so just, thanks for sticking with me :)**


	38. The Hunt

**Chapter 38**

Hiccup grunted as she stumbled on some of the wet brush which carpeted the forest floor. But she couldn't stop. If she did, the men would catch up to her and then she would be a real gonner. No. She had to keep running.

Hiccup had known for a while that Maraud's plan wouldn't work. Mainly because it wasn't really a plan at all, and just him trying to keep himself from freaking out by telling everyone that things would be alright. But Hiccup knew. There had been too man variable—to many things which could have gone wrong, and not enough things which could go right.

First off, just trying to smuggle four bears into the Bear King's castle was a huge risk. Hiccup hadn't exactly been sure why Maraud wanted her and the triplets to go inside with him instead of just going inside himself, explaining the problem to Toothless, and then bringing him outside after Toothless had been briefed. It would have been safer. It would have been smarter.

Hiccup would have told Maraud her own plan if she had been able to communicate with him. But she was a bear. Also, the girls were frightened. They wanted to be near their big brother. And Hiccup didn't have the heart or energy to explain why it was a bad idea. She had just run down from the mountain, with all of them on her back, and only three legs to support all the weight. By the time the five of them had reached the edge of the woods, Hiccup had been more than happy to just rest and let Maraud take lead for a while. Now Hiccup wished she would have pushed her thoughts onto him.

Secondly, Toothless was notoriously good at keeping grudges. If he thought that the bear Hiccup had turned into had eaten her, there was no saving bear her if he saw her. Maraud, of all people, should have known about Toothless's temperament.

But Hiccup couldn't look back right then, even if hindsight was 20/20. She had to run. Too bad she was tired and hurt and _hungry._ She hadn't eaten since that morning, and now her body was paying the price for that.

Hiccup's gait faltered for a moment and she stumbled to a stop, breathing heavily, and pushing her weight onto her trembling paws. Her ears flickered back and she heard the clacking of horse equipment being ridden and a low hum fill the air. Hiccup lifted her snout to the air and took a deep sniff. Thousands of scents invaded her nostrils, but she focused on the ones which seemed familiar. Those scents which should have given her comfort by instead forced her to run, feeling terrified and alone. The smoky, woodsy scent of her father. The cool, earthy scent of Maraud's father. They were after her. And they would try to kill her.

Hiccup forced herself to start running again, but it wasn't good enough. Hiccup's round ears swiveled behind her and she was painfully aware of how much louder the sounds of the hunting party were getting. Hiccup kept running, searching for a safe place. Her subconscious mind steered her hulking body to the safest place she knew. The circle of ancient stones. They still seemed to give off some sort of power. Hiccup stood near the far edge of them, as far from the hunting party as she could get. She took a deep breath, trying to inhale some of the power she could feel the earth give off, but it didn't work. She was weary and exhausted.

Hiccup felt her surroundings slow down. Her breath came out in loud pants. Something in her mind changed, and Hiccup's body posture soon followed suit. No more running. She was done. She didn't go through everything she had gone through in her life just to die as a bear in some Valkyrie-forsaken forest in Scotland because her idiot of a fiancée had been trying to protect her. And by the gods, if she hadn't left him or killed him yet, she was going to marry him!

The men rushed into the clearing and stood, tense, looking for her. Without her consent, Hiccup's bear body let out a menacing growl. The men turned to her and she felt her muscles tense. Some of the villagers actually started running towards her. All Hiccup knew was that she was in danger. Then, darkness. It was like all the other times she had turned into a 'real' bear, except so much faster.

Darkness and aggression were all she felt for gods knew how long.

The next thing Hiccup knew, she was blinking and pulling against the ropes which held her down to the ground. Hiccup took a deep breath, about to roar at the people who held her down. If there was one thing she knew, it was that a good roar could scare people into letting go of anything and send them running to the hills. Or make them faint on hills. It depended on how weak of heart they were.

But then Hiccup froze. She sniffed the air again. She knew that awful scent; the one which smelled like rotting carcasses and molding wood, all covered in dried blood. It was here. Mordue.

After stilling her muscles to an almost impossible degree, Hiccup gathered all her strength. She felt the love she had for all the people now trying to kill her. There was no way she was going to allow that. And there was especially no way she was going to allow them all to be murdered by the demon bear. Hiccup suddenly pushed against the ropes around her body, pulling and straining against them, trying to bite them off of her, using her claws to attempt to cut them. She called out in her rough bear voice, but no one answered her.

Did no one understand?! She needed to get out _now!_ How else was she going to protect them? How else was she going to protect herself? Toothless was nowhere to be seen and at that point, she was the only person (bear, who cares?) who could honestly stand a chance against the beast.

Hiccup thrashed around in a frenzy, trying to look into the dark forest for any signs of movement. The rain was now coming down in hard pellets and it chilled her, despite her thick fur. Toothless would've hated it.

Hiccup called out again, trying to look into the men's eyes. But no one would listen. But they had to understand! She roared again.

"_He's coming!" _She shouted at them all. "_Stop trying to hold me down and get ready! He's coming and he's out for blood! He's not playing this time! He wants no survivors!"_

Hiccup could feel Mordue's blood-lust hanging in the air. It made her sick. There was no real scent to it; it was more like a feeling which pressed down on her, making her previously achingly empty stomach begin to feel queasy.

"_You all need to leave! Please!"_

Hiccup would have protested against the ropes and kept shouting warnings at them all if she hadn't looked into Hank's eyes. They were hard and cold and he looked as if he couldn't wait to spear her straight through with the pitchfork in his hand. Hiccup stopped struggling. She _knew_ that look. She had seen it so many times it was almost perverted how comfortable she was with it. It was the same face her father used to make when a dragon made the unfortunate decision to land in front of him.

Hiccup was now the monster of Dunbrough's eyes. And nothing she could do or say would change that. She was going to die. And then they were going to die. These were really her last moments.

It almost seemed surreal to Hiccup that her life would end at the hands of some of the people she cared the most about.

The dragon raids hadn't killed her. Neither had the bullying (which was surprising, because Vikings were over-the-top in everything, especially violence). The numerous falls off of Toothless in her attempt to learn how to fly with him hadn't done her in. The Red Death hadn't killed her. Toothless having to practically bite her foot off in his attempt to reach her before she got swallowed by the flames hadn't killed her, either. Stress hadn't killed her (another surprising thing, because Hiccup had been sure at times that the stress would just choke her until she stopped breathing). And even Mordue wasn't about to kill her. It would be her father and her future-father-in-law and a village full of people who she had befriended.

So, she was a goner. Because Hiccup couldn't find it in herself to fight too strongly against the people who she held so dear in her aching heart. So she accepted her fate. Hiccup inwardly laughed as she thought of Maraud's reaction if he had heard her saying that. He would've had a fit! That boy… always fighting against his fate. Or his mother. Whichever one was more inconvenient for him at the time.

Her last moments… who would she think about?

Toothless. Hiccup's eyes watered. She hadn't seen him in days. Her body physically pained her at the thought. Even when he was a secret to Dunbrough, Hiccup had seen him at least one a day, for hours at a time. And since she had introduced him to the people, he hadn't been away from her side for more than a few moments. He was her companion. Her best friend. Her brother, in ways. He completed her in a way no one else could. But even if he saw her now, Hiccup was sure she would only see hatred in his blue-green eyes. And she would still love him.

What would she give to go back to the happier days? Everything. Back when she and Toothless could romp around and play all day in their cove because Hiccup didn't have any other friends or responsibilities. Back when they were still learning everything about one another. Back when they were more or less happy. And after that, after the Red Death, no one complained when Toothless was always beside her. Eating with her, sleeping with her, working with her. No one said a word because everyone knew. They were two halves to the same soul.

Her father. What if somehow Maraud was able to turn her body back into human form after they killed her? What would her father think? He already blamed himself for Hiccup's mother's death. How would he handle the fact that he had been the _very cause_ of the death of his daughter? For that matter, would he even be alive to see that she was Hiccup? His little girl? The one who constantly made his life harder and more challenging than Hiccup ever wanted it to be? Would he be able to fight Mordue off and escape with his life? Hiccup pushed the thought aside.

Her friends. Would anyone be alive to tell them what happened to her? Had anyone told them already that they thought she was dead? Did anyone tell them that they thought she was killed by a bear? Would they even believe it?

Hiccup thought about Astrid. Her first real human friend. Of course, at firsts Astrid had been angry. But then, after they defeated the Red Death and Hiccup got used to her handicap, the two girls had some bonding time. Astrid had confessed about how she actually liked Snotlout, but got aggravated and hurt when he chased after her, and then moved on right to another girl, without giving her feelings a second thought. In return, Hiccup had confessed how afraid she was. Every Viking knew about her, and every Viking knew that she was not a good wife to have. What if she died old and alone? No love for her?

Ruffnut had been a bit easier to get along with. All she had to do was laugh at the girl's jokes, and that wasn't difficult. Really, Ruffnut was a riot. Just thinking of her jokes made Hiccup laugh, even in her predicament: tied to the ground while in the form of a bear, about to be killed by the people who were supposed to be her family, or ripped apart by Mordue.

Tuffnut and Snotlout had apparently felt bad about treating her so foully for so long, and had one day stood up for her when a boy pushed her into the mud. That was the day they decided on being her new brothers, and it had been one of the best days of Hiccup's life. No one had ever stood up for her before, and while most Vikings would have hated it, Hiccup wasn't most Vikings. It showed her that they cared, and even Toothless was a fan of their new attitude.

Fishlegs had always been a nice intellectual friend. Before all the craziness with the Red Death, he had never been _mean_ to her. In fact, he had been quite nice to her. But, he had never really been very forthcoming about the friendly relationship. Otherwise, Hiccup was sure she might've come to like him. In a more than friendly manner. But, since he had been too afraid to ever stand up for her, Hiccup hadn't given him more than a thought in that regards. And she was glad she hadn't. Because if she had, she might not have gotten a very tempting offer from a certain queen of Dunbrough.

Eleanor. Mum. They were both the same person. She was kind and wise and wonderfully protective of Hiccup, but in such a way that Hiccup had never felt suffocated, just loved and cherished. Hiccup had heard the way she had berated Maraud any time he had done something awful to Hiccup. And as much as Hiccup didn't want to admit it, it had always been hilarious to see.

Hiccup's real mother had died so long ago that the most she remembered about the coveted warrior was her scent, the sense of warmth she gave to Hiccup, and the song. The song that Hiccup would try her hardest to never forget. And though Mum was no replacement for Mother, Hiccup found herself loving Mum like she had never loved anyone. It was a strange type of love, almost like a friendship, but stronger. Hiccup felt a sense of safety that allowed her to confide in Eleanor about anything—even Toothless. Just remembering her mum's warm embrace and eager smile and the laugh she let out while smiling made Hiccup feel warm inside. Her laugh was just like her son's…

Maraud. At first, Hiccup had honestly not known what to feel. She had seen him in the woods before her boat had landed. _That_ hadn't exactly gone over well with her dad. She had been awkward and a bit stiff with him, but after a while, she had really opened up to him. He had been kind and helpful and she had decided that she trusted him enough to introduce him to Toothless. Too bad she had chosen the wrong day, because he had let his wrathful side out and stabbed her in the leg with an arrow.

But he had tried _so hard_ after that to get her to forgive him. She wasn't an idiot. Hiccup knew she had just been stubborn when she had refused to listen to him. In a way, Hiccup was almost thankful for 'Princess' McGuffin for challenging her. If that 'princess' hadn't come and try to marry Maraud, Hiccup wasn't sure she would even be talking to Maraud. On the other hand, if she hadn't been talking to Maraud, she probably wouldn't be a bear right now…

But there was so much more to Maraud than anger and stubbornness and stupid decisions. He was protective and willing and adventurous. He was kind (when he wanted to be) and hard working and funny. He was loving to those close to him, and there was no denying how appealing his physical appearance was.

Hiccup imagined his face. It was all hard angles, with a stone-like jaw and cliffs as cheekbones. His eyes were deep in his eye sockets, but for how hard they could look, his eyes were colored like soft crystals. Just looking into them made Hiccup want to melt. His nose was long and straight and his lips were soft-looking and pink. His hair was wild and untamed, but it suited him. His body was well-toned from all his training and horse-back riding. And his voice!

His accent was to die for! It made Hiccup's stomach warm and she always had to push down a blush when he spoke to her. His voice… it was so deep. She imagined kissing his Adam's apple while he spoke. Would it vibrate? How would that feel against her lips?

For a moment Hiccup imagined it. He would be calling her name: _"Hiccup! I finally found you, Love!" _

Oh, when he called her that, dragons did summersaults in her stomach.

"_Don't you touch her!"_

Wow. Hiccup had a really good imagination. His voice was so… Maraud-like in her mind that it was almost like he was really there. Except, she knew it was just her imagination, obviously.

But then, his voice wasn't all in her head. Hiccup felt a sudden unnatural breeze of air in front of her and her eyes (which she actually hadn't noticed had closed) snapped open. There he was!

"Don't you take another step closer!" he snarled, warning the other men away. Because of his anger his voice turned threatening, deeper than usual. It made the hairs stand up all along Hiccup's back. She was so glad he wasn't looking back to see her reaction. His raw, unfiltered emotions brought out the heaviest accent she had heard from him yet, and it thrilled Hiccup.

"Boy, that _thing_ killed your fiancée! Hiccup is dead because of that! Don't you want vengeance?!" Fergus called.

"This is my wife!" Maraud called back. "I know it, Toothless knows it, and we won't let you get to her!"

It was then that Hiccup took in Maraud's appearance. He was sitting stiff-backed, sword in hand, muscles taught, ready to fight off anyone who tried to harm her. And he was riding a familiar mass of midnight blue scales and claws.

"_Toothless!"_ Hiccup roared out happily. Her eyes would have filled with tears if she was in human form. Since she was a bear, a low whimper escaped her snout instead. Toothless turned back and smiled at her, revealing nothing but pink gums, even though Hiccup knew the rain was bound to irritate him. Toothless knew it was her! He loved her and had come after her! And Hiccup knew now that she would never let him go. At that moment, Hiccup wanted nothing more than to get him out of the forest. She wanted him at home, drying off by the fire, safe and sound. Safe. _Safe. _

"_Toothless!" _This time Hiccup's roar was urgent. _"Get them out! Mordue is coming!" _

It was a really good thing that Toothless and Hiccup never really needed words to communicate. Toothless raised his sensitive snout into the air, taking in all the smells that the rain seemed to amplify. His pupils turned into slits and he turned to face Hiccup, growling lowly. Hiccup sniffed the air and tensed. Mordue was somewhere behind her.

Mordue ignored her and Toothless. He jumped off her dragon's back and faced the men, body still taught, blood pumping with adrenaline. He hoped no one noticed his three sisters, still bears, hiding at the edge of the forest in the direction he and Toothless had come from. He just needed to ensure their safety, so he brought them with him. But right now, Hiccup's safety was the one in the most jeopardy.

"Get away from this girl," Maraud grit through his teeth. "_My_ girl!" He practically snarled at the gathering of men in front of him. A few gripped their weapons tighter and stepped forward. The space between Hiccup and the mob was quickly diminishing, and while Maraud wasn't the smartest man around, he knew that was a real problem.

Maraud spun around and looked at the men who were holding onto the ropes which held Hiccup down. They had let go and were now wearily facing Toothless, who was glaring dangerously at something in the same direction as Hiccup. But he couldn't _actually_ be growling at Hiccup. What else was out there?

A few of the men who had once held Hiccup down grabbed their pitchforks and started towards Toothless, but before Maraud could tell them that that was a bad idea, Hiccup was out of her ropes and standing in front of Toothless, snarling at the men.

Maraud mentally smirked. While Hiccup was alive, she wouldn't let anything touch a single one of Toothless's scales. Maraud knew that they would die for each other. But today, they wouldn't have to. Not if Maraud had his way. Even though he had been trying for so long to get over his selfish tendencies, at his core, Maraud was still a spoiled little prince. He would throw a fit and lash out to get what he wanted. And what he wanted right then was Hiccup. He would get his way, and she would be alive for a long time. She was his. And if Maraud had any say whatsoever, she would not be leaving his side until he died.

He glared at the people in front of him. Chief Stoic was there, looking murderously at Maraud. Maraud smirked. He would be getting millions of apologies and thanks from that man later.

"That's not a monster behind me! It's Hiccup!" He said, voice hard and full of conviction. He didn't sway a single man in front of him towards believing him. If only he had listened to his mum and her stupid lessons!

"Get out of the way, Lad!" Hiccup's da growled. Maraud felt determination flowing through his veins as freely as the rain poured around them Maraud's clothes and hair stuck to his face, but he didn't care.

"No! I'll not let you harm my future wife!"

"That bear is an animal!" one of the men screamed.

"That bear is a cursed Hiccup!" Maraud denied. "If you lay one hand on her, I'll—!"

Maraud was cut off by the simultaneous growls of Toothless and Hiccup. Maraud turned his back to the men to see what was going on. The two Berkians were facing the forest behind Hiccup. Hiccup's hackles were raised, and Toothless had spread his wings, giving him a nightmarish appearance. What was in those woods?

His question was answered by two glowing red eyes. Mordue. Maraud was about to turn and tell everyone to run, but before he had the chance to, Mordue rushed into the clearing, heading straight for Maraud.

_This is it,_ he thought. _I'll die, and Hiccup will still be a bear. _

But Hiccup was having none of that. Before Mordue could kill Maraud, Hiccup pushed Maraud to the side with a surprising amount of gentleness for how suddenly she did it. Mordue ended up crashing into her instead. Because of her lack of four legs, Hiccup fell right over. But before Mordue could slash at her vulnerable body, Toothless screeched and bit into Mordue's stomach.

Mordue roared in pain, and Toothless quickly pulled away, head stained red with the bear's blood, which now ran freely down its body. Mordue was about to go after Toothless again, but Hiccup was already on him, literally jumping on top of the demon and biting into its neck.

Before Mordue could retaliate, Hiccup was on the ground, backing away from the dangerous foe. Mordue made to pursue her, snarling viciously, saliva running down his mouth. Maraud hefted his sword in front of him, about to take a running start towards the demon threatening his fiancée, but he was beaten by two spears. The long weapons stuck out of Mordue's side like toothpicks, and Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall froze like statues next to the monster. It would've killed them, too, if their fathers hadn't pulled them out of the way in time.

Maraud ran up to the beast while Toothless and Hiccup forcefully herded the men back. Maraud slashed at the monster, but it didn't do much. Its hide wasn't like normal bear hide. It was tough, like leather, and slick, like oil. Getting a hit to stick was nearly impossible. Killing it seemed like wishful thinking.

Mordue slashed a heavy paw at Maraud, and he felt the skin around his left hand peel back at the same his sword flew out of his hand. If it weren't for the warmth of his blood, Maraud would've thought that the wetness running down his hand was just the rain.

Maraud stumbled back as Mordue rushed forward, jaws open, teeth gleaming in the dark. Maraud fell down, closing his eyes, bracing himself for death. Instead of feeling pain, however, Maraud heard a body crash into another body. Maraud's eyes snapped open as he witnessed Hiccup wrestle with the larger, more dangerous bear. His heart stopped beating for one moment… two.

The very ground shook as the two repeatedly slammed into each other. Toothless started rushing in, to try and help Hiccup, but Maraud got in his way. He would tell Toothless just wanted to blast Mordue to pieces (at least, he was fairly sure that's what Toothless wanted), and as much as Maraud would have _loved _to see that, Maraud knew Toothless couldn't.

Hiccup and Mordue were practically intertwined as they fought. While trying to help Hiccup, Toothless might accidentally injure her instead. It seemed that Toothless figured out the problem, as well, because after a second of struggling against Maraud, he relented, agitatedly flapping his wings and crying out to try and help Hiccup.

Hiccup, in the meanwhile, was beginning to get tired. No. Not beginning. She had already been exhausted. At that point, fighting with that bear, the only things keeping her going were adrenaline and the love she had burning inside of her. But that wasn't enough. The energy reserves inside of her were emptying at an alarming rate. Hiccup could feel her body begin to give up.

But she couldn't die. That would be too easy. No. She refused. Not now. Not like this. Think, Hiccup. Think.

Hiccup's eyes darted to her surroundings, and in her momentarily lapse in concentration, Mordue threw Hiccup against one of the standing stones which made up the powerful circle. Toothless cried out, and in that moment, the world became silent for Hiccup. Of course! How could she have been so stupid?

Hiccup quickly stood up and turned to that Mordue was the one closest to the stone. It was a good thing that he had chosen _that _stone in particular to throw her into. It had already been weakened when she and Toothless had accidentally crash-landed in it, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Having a bear hurled at it probably didn't make it any stronger.

Hiccup stood up on her one leg, ignoring the muscles beginning to cramp there, and pushed all her weight onto Mordue, who had turned to face her, and then risen up on his two legs, as well.

The wall behind him shifted, but the stone didn't break. Desperate, Hiccup hit him again, but Mordue wasn't stunned anymore, and was beginning to get annoyed. Suddenly, a prickling feeling went through Hiccup's back, and she turned to the right and jumped.

Wise decision on her part, because Toothless had decided enough was enough and had run into Mordue with enough strength to break the rock. The stone crumbled and Toothless slithered out of the way just in time to see Mordue crushed by the powerful stone.

Hiccup was panting, and Toothless had an odd expression on his face, a mixture of pure terror and raw hatred.

Hiccup let out a weary breath. It almost sounded like a relieved huff. She and Toothless exchanged glances. The sky was clearing up, the rain stopping so suddenly it almost seemed impossible. The air was beginning to lighten with the oncoming dawn.

Hiccup felt strange, almost like something inside of her was beginning to shift. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable feeling, but Hiccup didn't like it. However, bigger things were happening. Cheering. Hiccup's mind cleared.

He was dead. Mordue was dead.

* * *

**Like always, this isn't edited, so sorry for any issues. I wrote a good chunk of this in the 'so-late-it's-early' portion of the day. Lol, try to figure out which section that was (it won't be hard). So I spent a bit of time wondering if I wanted bear-Hiccup and Toothless to be able to speak when she wasn't a human, and I decided I didn't want that, for a couple of reasons. One: she didn't turn into a dragon, and I just thought it would be weird if Toothless could randomly speak to other animals, because he didn't talk to the horse, or the sheep on Berk or anything. Two: I've read so many fics where Toothless talks like a human in his head, and that doesn't seem right, and then there's the ones where he sounds like an idiot, and that DEFINITELY doesn't seem right, so I decided to play more into their non-verbal communication skills. I liked the idea of them having such a strong bond that Hiccup didn't even need to be a human for Toothless to be able to understand her.**

**Anyway, I just realized that I started this fic exactly one year and a day ago, so I'm trying my hardest to end it by tomorrow! I already have half of the next chapter written up :3 And speaking of endings...**

**TWO CHAPTERS LEFT!**

**I'm honestly so excited to see everything come together! We're at like, 259 favorites, and 305 followers, we're in FOUR communities and y'all have given me about 260 reviews! I think I've become such a better writer thanks to this, and that was honestly my entire goal! So thanks so much for sticking with me in this story, through the fast updates and the amazingly long unofficial hiatuses, it's been great, especially with such great followers 3 For this chapter I was kinda hoping we'd get closer to my three hundred review goal, so... just review if you have the time? Reading those reviews honestly makes me want to write so much more, y'all wouldn't even believe it! So honestly, thanks a lot :)**


	39. I know, Love

**Chapter 39**

A few months ago, if someone had told Maraud that Mordue had been killed, he would have been the happiest man on earth. But at that moment, Maraud felt nothing but anxiety. He could tell Hiccup was about to turn into a bear. The sun was rising; the time limit was almost up. He had to fix this.

Maraud pulled away from the crowd of rejoicing men and raced towards Toothless. He barely noticed the men quieting their celebration, watching him with curious eyes. Did they believe him now? Had they realized that the bear was Hiccup? Honestly, Maraud didn't care. He was going to turn Hiccup back into a human, and then he was going to rip everyone who had tried to kill Hiccup a new one. Honestly, who did they think they were, trying to get away with killing Maraud's future wife?

"Toothless, come here." Maraud grabbed onto the dragon's neck and pulled. He must've sounded impressively commanding, or pathetically desperate, because Toothless listened to Maraud without a moment of protest. Maraud positioned Toothless by Hiccup and re-played the prophecy through his head.

_Fate be Changed_

_You can Heal It_

_Mend the Bond_

_Torn by Secrets_

Alright. Secrets.

"Toothless. I didn't want Hiccup to go out and Mordue so I got help from a witch and I asked her to change the way Hiccup thinks," _Not like it did much good,_ Maraud thought bitterly. _Hiccup practically killed the thing herself. _"So the stupid witch gave me a potion after she made me buy a whole shop's worth of wood carvings, but when I gave it to Hiccup, she turned into a bear and that's basically why we're here right now."

Maraud pursed his lips and looked over at Hiccup anxiously. Nothing happened. He glanced worriedly up at the sky. The sun was beginning to poke through the horizon. No… no!

Maraud wrapped Toothless's damp wings around Hiccup, ignoring the scent of damp animal, as well as the curious gazes of the men behind him.

"It should work now," Maraud muttered. "_Why_ isn't it working?" Maraud ignored the crack in his voice and focused on Hiccup. Her vivid green eyes were turning brown, and not a single bit of white was showing in her eyes. A few seconds later, where Hiccup had once been sat a mindless, wild bear. It looked, uncomprehending, into Maraud's eyes before Maraud had to look away.

What had he done? He had just wanted to save Hiccup, to ensure her a long life. And now she was gone and there was another goddamn bear!

Toothless sadly nuzzled the dumb bear who was sniffing curiously at his wings. The dragon turned his head to look at Maraud. He let out a heart-wrenching whine, asking the prince what was wrong.

"I don't know, Toothless!" Maraud croaked, sliding to his knees. "I reunited those who love! What else can I do?" Maraud screamed the last bit out into the woods. He glared at the trees a moment, as if they were the cause of all the pain in his heart at the moment. But they weren't. He was.

Maraud had done a lot to make the people he cared about proud of him. He became the best warrior his side of the highlands to please his da. He tried his best to keep his sisters out of trouble and snuck them sweets, and he stayed strong in front of them; they looked up to him. And sure he didn't listen to his mum too much, but he tried to make sure she knew just how much he loved her. But, there was one person he cared about more than them. And she had been the one he had failed in the end.

He had yelled at her, tried to kill her best friend, stabbed her in the leg, and turned her into a bear. And yet she still gave him chance after chance to fix himself. She was kind and smart, but she understood his jokes and laughed with him, and even though she was 'handicapped,' she craved adventure same as him. And while she brought out the calm and compassionate parts in him, he brought out her inner fire; the same fire every one of her friends had been shocked to see. They completed each other and now that Maraud knew what it was like to have her, he wasn't sure he could survive without her. He needed her.

"Oh, Hiccup," Maraud leaned in closer to her, not minding the wet fur or potentially dangerous claws and teeth. He just wanted to be close to her. "I'm so sorry!" For the first time in his memory, a tear escaped Maraud's eye.

He wasn't about to lie and say it was the rain. Hiccup had made him accept parts of himself and change others. He was a man now. Only men cried and admitted it. Especially if they cried over the woman they loved. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Love!" The bear-Hiccup was sniffing his hair and Maraud brought a hand up to its neck. "I just wanted to keep you safe, and now I've killed you! I'm so, so sorry!"

Maraud felt Toothless shift to wrap his wings around the bear more securely. Maraud didn't pay it any mind. He was probably in the process of grieving Hiccup. Again. Maraud hadn't really thought about it, but technically, Toothless had lost Hiccup three days ago. And then Maraud had barged in and told him there was a chance to save her. But Maraud had failed Toothless as well.

Maraud was about to start apologizing to Toothless (Hiccup also taught him how to apologize. Something only his mum seemed to really notice) when a voice came out of the crisp air. It was a soft voice, tired. But it was a sweet voice. One which could be witty when it wanted to, or supportive when it felt the need to.

"Maraud, calm down. I'm okay now. I'm fine. You fixed me, Love. Thank you."

Maraud's hand had shifted when Toothless had moved his wings. Still looking down towards the grass, Maraud moved his hand up. He felt Hiccup's hair. Not short and coarse, like a bear. But long and silky, like he had always imagined Hiccup's to be.

Could it really be…?

"H-Hiccup?" Maraud vulnerably raised his gaze to see whether there was a bear in Toothless's wings, or a human. He was painfully aware of how red and sore his eyes felt. "Hiccup!"

Maraud had so many emotions he couldn't even process them all. Relief was a big one. So was happiness. And there was something he couldn't quite be sure about, but he was almost positive it was… love. Not like he'd tell her that. Nope. She'd have to confess first. Maraud had embarrassed himself enough in front of her. But did that honestly even matter anymore? Didn't he deserve to be embarrassed a little for her? After all, he had done such awful things to her…

"Maraud, it's me!" Hiccup grinned, almost shy. Maraud didn't care. He never thought he could be so happy just by hearing someone's voice!

Maraud rose up from his kneeling position on the ground, pushing the pain in his knees, leg, and arm out of mind. He moved to hold Hiccup, just to reassure himself that she was really there, alive and well, but Toothless had other ideas.

The dragon's large, bat-like wings still cocooned her, and when Maraud moved closer to Hiccup, the stupid reptile actually growled at him.

"Oh, come on, now," Maraud growled, frustrated. "I thought she was gone, too, you stupid beast! And I thought we were getting on fine till now, what's this hissy fit about?!"

"U-umm…" Maraud eagerly turned to face Hiccup. She was shivering, but her face was completely red.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" Maraud put his hand on her forehead. His anger at Toothless was shadowed by his worry for the woman in front of him. "Your face is all red… do you have a fever?"

"N-no!" Hiccup shook her head violently, face so hot Maraud could see the steam wafting off of her in the frigid morning air. "It's just that… ah… I'm n-n-naked."

It took a second for Hiccup's words to register into Maraud's mind. Hiccup had been a bear before all this. No clothes. She… wasn't wearing any clothes now. All that was covering her body were Toothless's wings. Maraud swallowed, but his eyes unconsciously traveled down, soaking in her smooth cheeks and long, slender neck. His eyes would have gone lower if Chief Stoic hadn't appeared out of thin air.

He was petting Toothless's head, and the two were teaming up to glare at Maraud. Maraud glared back at Stoic. He hadn't forgotten about how he had tried to kill Hiccup, but Maraud decided now wasn't the time for that particular fight.

Hiccup was naked in the middle of the woods surrounded by men, and his sist—oh no, his sisters!

Maraud's eyes widened and he ran to the edge of the clearing.

"Hilda!" he yelled. "Hilary! Helen!"

Seconds later three sets of rang through the air, and Maraud let out a relieved breath. But then the three of them decided to run out of the woods. Completely naked. Maraud groaned before taking off his thick winter sash and shirt. His sisters were clinging to his da. Maraud rolled his eyes before walking over to them, pulling Hilary and Hilda to him and wrapping them up in his clothes. Honestly. They were such a bother. Maraud felt goosebumps pop up on his arms and chest.

"Dingwall!" Maraud called out roughly. "Take off your shirt. My sister's going to freeze!"

Dingwall did as told, and Maraud left his sisters to pester his da.

Try as he might, Maraud couldn't keep himself away from Hiccup. She and her da had been talking, and Maraud could tell how upset it was making her, even though no one else seemed to notice. He had made her upset enough times to see the warning signs. Her lips were pursing and her eyebrows were beginning to scrunch together the slightest bit. She was adorable.

And besides, Maraud couldn't let a chance to show off his body go to waste.

"Hiccup!" he called out before walking over. The chief gave him a nasty look. He said a few harsh words in his native tongue and Hiccup answered back, her answers becoming short. The chief looked at Maraud gruffly before conceding to whatever Hiccup had said, and he backed off a few steps.

"Hey, Maraud," Hiccup greeted. And then her stomach made the loudest sound Maraud had ever heard. Maraud raised his eyes, trying (and failing) to suppress a grin.

"Hungry?" Maraud asked his red-faced fiancée.

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled, but she was smiling, so Maraud didn't think too much about it.

"So… why don't you feast your eyes?" Maraud smirked, flexing his muscles. Hiccup squeaked, and Maraud couldn't stop the laughter which boomed out of his chest. She was just so cute!

"Oh, so I practically come back from the dead and this is how you treat me?" Hiccup mumbled. "I see how it is!"

That stopped Maraud's laughter immediately. She was right. Hiccup had basically died in front of everyone. For a few terrifying moments, the body which used to house Hiccup no longer held _her_. And it might happen again. Maraud felt a cold sweat trickle down his neck and back with just that one thought.

"You know," Maraud could hear his voice deepen with his seriousness. He had just realized how close he had been to losing Hiccup. He couldn't let himself go another second without telling Hiccup just what she meant to him. Even if it meant embarrassing himself in front of everyone. "I love you."

"I know," Hiccup said. She leaned forward a little, and Toothless shifted with her. They both seemed to know what they were doing. Of course they did. Even when Hiccup was a _bear_ Toothless had understood her. Toothless pushed Hiccup up so that she and Maraud were eye level. Maraud could not have torn his eyes away from hers, even if he had wanted to. He swallowed at the swirl of emotions that shone through her bright eyes. "I love you, too."

And then she kissed him. It was like a rush. Her lips were soft and tasted like her. Sweet. The pressure she placed against his own lips made Maraud's heart race, as if he had just climbed the fire falls. The heat which radiated off of Hiccup's lips lit a fire inside of Maraud, and he knew he had to pull away, or he would do something no man wanted to do to a woman in front of her father.

They faced each other, breathing hard. Both were grinning so widely that their faces almost ripped in two. They were so stuck in their own little world that it took a minute for Maraud to hear all the cheering.

"Hey! Keep your filthy little eyes off of her!" Maraud scowled at all of them, but everyone laughed. Maraud found he couldn't fault them.

Mordue was dead. Hiccup was alive. The Dunbrough princesses were no longer bears. And the kingdom was guaranteed to a stable future: Princess Hiccup of Berk and Prince Maraud of Dunbrough were to be married in a few short days, and their relationship with the commoners was better than it had ever been before.

The future was looking good. Everyone seemed to realize this, and they cheered again. This time Maraud and Hiccup joined in. Even Toothless did his bit. A purple-blue ball of fire left his fearsome maw and exploded in the air. Maraud was left momentarily speechless. Such fire inside such a cute creature. Just like Hiccup.

Maraud leaned forward and kissed her forehead, not minding the mud his lips discovered. He just loved her. And soon, she would be stuck with him for the rest of their lives. But judging from the look on her face and the way she had kissed him earlier, he didn't think she'd mind very much. Maraud just hoped she would remember this moment the next time Maraud messed up. And if she didn't remember, Maraud would just have to remind her that she loved him Probably by kissing her.

* * *

**So it's not the best chapter, I know, but I just wanted to get this up before tomorrow. I'm probably going to finish the last chapter tonight but I'll post it tomorrow so it'll be Exactly. One. Year. Oh my gosh, I can't even believe it's been this long! But after this, I have ideas on what I'll be writing. First I have to finish the sequel I started for another fem! Hiccup story called She Was Never Gone For Good. After I finish that, I might do a side story for this one. But probably not. If y'all feel a _burning need _for more stories from this couple, make your own! If you want to use stuff from the story line I've created, I give you my blessing, but let me know so I can read them, too! **

**ONE CHAPTER LEFT! **

**It might disappoint some of you, but it's not going to be their wedding. I was thinking of making a quick one-shot of their wedding, or even how Toothless reacted during those three days when he thought Hiccup was dead, but... eh. We'll see. Anyway, I didn't really give people a lot of time to read and review the last chapter, but if I want to keep the story on track to be finished by tomorrow, I really want to update this chapter today. Ten reviews? Too much to ask for? Ah, whatever, I have faith in all y'all awesome people :)**


	40. The EndThe Beginning

**Chapter 40**

"You know, I still don't know how he doesn't know we're just messing around," Young Macintosh good-heartedly complained to Wee Dingwall. "I mean, we all heard her say she loves him."

"Yeah, I know," Wee Dingwall agreed while passing Young Macintosh a cube of ice to help with his developing black eye.

"But you know, flirting with Hiccup is still fun," Young Macintosh grinned. Wee Dingwall sat next to his fellow prince while starting to wrap up his bloodied leg.

"I do like riling up Maraud. No matter how cool he tries to act in front of Hiccup, he's still the same hot-headed prince who dumped an entire platter of Haggis on top of you!" Wee Dingwall chortled.

Young Macintosh forced a smile before swinging his arm around the blonde's neck and squeezing just a little too tightly to be friendly.

"Well, as hilarious as an angry Maraud is, a blushing Hiccup is too cute!"

"Oh, absolutely!"

"I just wish he wouldn't hit quite so hard!"

"Well, I guess you'd better stop getting him mad, then, huh?"

Both princes spun around to the new voice. Hiccup.

"Ah. Sorry, Hiccup," Wee Dingwall said bashfully.

"I just want you two to feel your best at my wedding," Hiccup said. "I forbid you from having any bruises at my wedding," she joked.

"Sort of impossible, that," Wee Dingwall griped. "Your fiancé has quite a punch."

Hiccup laughed. "You might want to stop teasing him, then, hmm?"

"We're not teasing him!" Young Macintosh protested. "We're teasing you!"

"Yeah, well quit that, too," Maraud entered the infirmary. "Honestly, you two are so bothersome. Do we have to have them at the wedding?" Maraud turned to Hiccup. She just rolled her eyes playfully and shoved him in the chest.

"Oh, come on, now!" Wee Dingwall protested. "We're all friends here!"

"Besides, you won the challenge," Young Macintosh pointed out. "And even if you hadn't, we kind of gave up on that whole 'romance with Hiccup' the day after…"

"The day after I turned back into a human?"

"How are you so calm about that?" Wee Dingwall questioned.

"If my fiancée had turned me into a bear, I would've been freaking out about it," Young Macintosh agreed. Maraud shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

Hiccup just laughed again.

"I'm a Viking, you know. Practically everything in our lives are occupational hazards. Believe me when I say that weirder and more dangerous things have happened to me,"

All the men in the room stared at Hiccup. Wee Dingwall shook his head and said,

"I'm so glad we're friends."

"Not just friends," Young Macintosh added. "Good friends."

"Me, too." Hiccup smiled.

"I'm not." Maraud grumbled.

Hiccup helped bandage Wee Dingwall's leg. The four of them sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before Hiccup's mum came in to pull Maraud and Hiccup out.

"Oh, come now, you two," she scolded lightly when the two of them seemed reluctant to get up. "The wedding's in five days! So much work to be done and you two are just lazing about!"

"But Mum, I still need to finish my prosthetic!" Hiccup smiled up at the older woman. The queen immediately softened at Hiccup's plight.

"Oh, how silly of me, Dear. Of course, go finish that. Whenever you have the time, come up to my room and we'll finish planning!"

"Thanks, Mum!" Hiccup stood up with the help of the crutches she'd been using since she'd discovered that Toothless had practically destroyed her old prosthetic. She gave the queen a kiss on the cheek and then left towards the forge.

"I'll go help Hiccup!" Maraud tried to maneuver his way out of planning as elegantly as Hiccup had, but it was no use.

"No, Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall can do that. Come, Maraud, we have things to discuss,"

"But Mum!" Maraud scowled.

"'But Mum' nothing. Maraud, this is your wedding just as much as it is Hiccup's! Now come, we need to decide which flowers to put up around the pit!"

Maraud groaned as he followed his mum out, glaring at the princes when they laughed at his back.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm getting married!" Hiccup squealed as Ruffnut and Astrid attempted to help her braid her hair.

"I can't believe Astrid's this bad at braiding," Ruffnut scoffed, pushing Astrid's hands out of the way. Astrid moved to get Hiccup's clothes ready. Toothless sat next to Hiccup, head in her lap. He had gotten a lot more clingy since she had been turned into a bear, but even he knew not to follow her and Maraud the night after their wedding. Hiccup blushed at the thought.

"What's with the red cheeks?" Ruff asked. Then a wicked glint entered the tall blonde's eyes. "Why you naughty little girl!"

"No! It's not that! I'm not thinking about that! I-I'm not thinking about anything!" Hiccup protested. Ruff hummed, clearly not believing her. "So…" Hiccup tried to think of any other path for the conversation to go. "Oh! How's Lardfest?"

Ruff's hands temporarily stilled, but that was enough for Hiccup. She exchanged a sly smile with Toothless before asking,

"Has anything happened, Ruff?"

"No!" her voice was high and squeaky.

"Oh. He was a handsome guy, right? Has he found a wife yet?"

"No!" this time Ruff was defensive.

"Hmm… didn't he like brunettes? Do you think Vallerie has a chance with him?"

"If she goes after my man I swear I will rip all her stupid brown hair out myself!" Ruff all but snarled. Hiccup laughed.

"'Your man'? Since when?"

"Oh, uh…"

Ruff was saved by Astrid walking in with a beautiful white gown, embroidered with flowers and flames, bears and sunsets. It was beautiful.

"Wow," Hiccup breathed.

"Maraud's going to have some real trouble keeping his hands off you when he sees you in this," Astrid laughed, gesturing towards the straps in place of sleeves.

"Well, any guy would. Look at her!" Ruff showed Astrid her finished work.

"Oh, Hiccup," Astrid smiled. "You look beautiful!"

"Thanks," Hiccup said. She looked at the dress. It showed a lot of skin. Maraud would see a lot of her skin. What if he saw some of her scars? What if he decided he didn't like her anymore? What if he didn't notice how repulsive her body actually was until the wedding night? He'd see her burn marks and scars from dragon baby claws. He's see the places where blades had nicked her or just run her straight through. But worse, he'd see her stump.

It wasn't a pretty scar. It was wrinkly and sagged. There were ugly marks on her skin from where the skin had bled the first few weeks of being in the prosthetic. Hiccup wouldn't lie. As much as she seemed at ease with her leg (or lack thereof) she was very much not confident in the way it looked.

Toothless, sensing the sudden change in her mood, nudged her left leg. He licked it and smiled up at her. She smiled sadly back down at him.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked. "What's wrong?"

"What if Maraud sees me…" she gestured towards her nude body. Vikings were not very concerned with nudity. "And he decides he doesn't like me anymore?"

"Then I'd tell Ruff and Snot and we'd all go after him and beat him to a bloody pulp," Ruff said, very matter-of-factly.

"But that won't happen," Astrid said, glaring at Ruffnut. "Because he loves you. He always knew about you not having both legs. Remember, he saw you when you were just a bear, and he still loved you!"

"Besides, there's almost nothing not to love!" Ruff said cheerily.

"Almost?" Astrid asked, confused.

"Well, she's a bit of a pacifist," Ruff wrinkled her nose. "Not a lot of Viking guys like that, but this big hunk of man isn't very Viking, is he?"

Hiccup laughed.

"No, he's not. Doesn't even call the forge a forge. He calls it a smithy or something,"

"Well, we're getting off topic," Astrid said. "Main point is, he'll love you, scars and all."

"And just remember to tell me if he doesn't. We'll come up with a plausible reason why he showed up dead in a ditch in the forest."

Hiccup laughed. She loved her friends. So, so much. She didn't even know what she would have done without them right then.

"Alright, let's see you in the dress!" Astrid piped up. Hiccup did, and then she faced the mirror. She couldn't even believe that was her. The dress was form-fitting enough to show off all her assets, but not so tight that it emphasized all the points on her body Hiccup was self-conscience about. It looked beautiful on her.

"Hiccup, you look beautiful," Ruff smiled in a rare moment of seriousness.

"Alright, girls. My turn to be alone with the bride! Go get ready, we'll see you out there in a few moments!" Hiccup's mum said from by the door.

As Astrid and Ruffnut left, Eleanor made her way to Hiccup. She smiled at the girl and Hiccup smiled back. But, Eleanor could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Dear?" Eleanor asked. Was Hiccup just now realizing how much better she could do? Was she thinking about how many awful things her son had done to her? Was she re-thinking spending the rest of her life with her son?

"W-what if he doesn't like me?" Hiccup asked, her eyes showing such true concern. Eleanor was so surprised she didn't respond for a few moments. Hiccup elaborated. "I mean, I'm not like the girls from around here. I don't have the softest skin, and I have freckles! And… scars… I'm a Viking. We have a lot of fights and, um… accidents. I have scars, and…" Hiccup trailed off, looking out the window. "I don't have my whole left leg. And my stump is so _ugly_,"

Toothless growled from his spot by Hiccup's legs. Eleanor just sighed.

"Well, I'm not sure whether or not to be glad that the topic of your bodies hasn't come up between you and Maraud. But let me tell you, Hiccup. Maraud doesn't like the girls from around here. He pushed them all away. You're the only one who's been strong enough to deal with the boy he used to be and turn him into the man he is right now.

"He likes his women strong. Your scars, your faults, they make you _you._ And he _loves_ you. He'll love you with one and a half legs just as he would've loved you with three eyes. So, no need to be nervous, Dear. Just be confident, and you'll have the pleasure of seeing him be nervous in front of you,"

"Gods know that doesn't happen nearly often enough," Hiccup scoffed teasingly. Eleanor saw the smile on her face, and even though it was small, it was genuine. Eleanor stood up.

"Alright. Are you ready now, Dear? Because it's time."

"Ready." Hiccup said. The two women linked arms and walked out, Toothless just an inch to Hiccup's left. They all walked out, towards the beginning of the rest of Hiccup's life.

* * *

Hiccup walked through the narrow strip of space between the two crowds of people. She was nervous and her hands were sweating. She just hoped that she didn't stink. Maraud was there, by the king, looking calm and composed.

He was wearing a new kilt, very dark, and very blue. It brought out the color in his eyes. Hiccup found she liked the blue kilt very much. His hair was combed back and twisted in a very manly, very _Viking-like_ braid. Hiccup swallowed. He looked so handsome.

His eyes were staring quite intensely into hers, and Hiccup hoped he liked the way she looked. Hiccup almost tripped on a stone in her momentary spike of worry, but Toothless caught her. She smiled at him, and he flashed his gums back at her.

After what felt like an eternity, Hiccup finally stood across from Maraud, in front of everyone. The entire plaza and village, as well as the clans Macintosh and Dingall. They were all going to see her get married.

Hiccup's hear just about burst out of her chest as Toothless skipped to the edge of the pit she and Maraud were in. She needed him here! But… only she was getting married. Toothless wasn't.

Maraud squeezed her hands, and gave her a reassuring smile. Hiccup squeezed back. She loved this man. So much. Like a wave, a feeling of calmness washed over her.

Hiccup didn't really remember the rest of the wedding. There were lots of congratulations, she was sure. And lots of food. And lots of gifts.

The main thing Hiccup remembered was being surrounded by Maraud and Toothless all night, and having so much fun with them! She had cake smashed into her face by Toothless, and Maraud had come to her aid, throwing some Haggis at Toothless's head. Well, Hiccup couldn't leave Toothless like that, so she had tossed some sweets at Maraud. And thus, a traditional Viking food-fight had started. Hiccup could vaguely remember how shocked all the Scottish had been at the intensity all the Berkians had shown during the battle. Because to a Viking, there was no such thing as a casual battle.

Halfway through the battle, Toothless had gently nudged her and Maraud back towards the castle. It was nighttime now. If they stayed any longer, they would have to help clean up. Hiccup kissed Toothless's snout in thanks, careful to avoid the Haggis, before tugging Maraud into the castle with her.

And now they were alone in his—_their_ room, cleaning up.

"I'll take a bath first, if that's alright?" Maraud asked. Hiccup nodded, beginning to unravel the elaborate and now sticky braid Ruff had fashioned into her hair. It took such a long time that Maraud had actually finished his bath by the time Hiccup had completely finished opening it up and combing her hair out.

"My turn?" she asked, vaguely surprised by how normal it all seemed. She would have thought at least one of them would be more nervous. But, it all seemed horribly…mundane.

Maraud hummed in response and started brushing his own hair while Hiccup picked up her night clothes and quickly filled the tub, wanted the gunk off of her body as quickly as possible.

When Hiccup walked out of the bathroom, prosthetic back in place, it was to an odd sight. Maraud was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands pressed together. His lips were pressed against his long fingers, and Hiccup remembered the tingling feeling those lips had given her before.

Hiccup sat next to him, wrapping her arms around Maraud's broad shoulders.

"Careful," Hiccup teasingly warned. "If you think any harder, you might turn me into an even more horrible animal this time. A yak, maybe,"

Maraud rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha," he smirked, and Hiccup smiled up at him. Maraud stared into her eyes, and suddenly all the nervousness Hiccup had been having a curious lack of crashed down on her.

"U-uh…" Hiccup stammered before Maraud leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Hiccup melted against his warmth. His scent was clear and clean from his bath, and his hair was still wet.

Maraud pushed against her, and they lay down against the bed, Maraud using his strength to keep him hovering over her. They kissed for a while longer. And then Hiccup remembered her mum's advice. Be confident. Alright.

Hiccup boldly licked the seam of Maraud's lips with her tongue. He gladly opened his mouth and Hiccup licked all she could reach in his mouth before his own tongue pushed hers out of the way. Hiccup moaned as he explored her mouth. Her hands traveled up and down his chest, trying to memorize every single bit of the hard muscle covered by soft skin.

Hiccup took a chance and flipped the two of them over so that she was on top. Maraud seemed to appreciate the rest for his arms.

Hiccup let herself get lost in Maraud. His taste, his skin, the feelings he stirred up inside of her. She wasn't sure exactly what he was giving to her right then, but she wanted more. Maraud bit her bottom lip and Hiccup moaned.

And then Maraud's hands wandered slowly up her night shirt. Hiccup stiffened and pulled away. They both stared at each other, panting. Maraud kept his hands under her clothes, but questioned,

"Hiccup?" his voice was deep and rough, and Hiccup loved it. But she had to let him know. If he was going to be disgusted, she would rather he tell her now than when she would be exposed in front of him.

"I'm not pretty!" she blurted out. Maraud blinked, stiffening minutely. But, months of riding Toothless made it second-nature for Hiccup to feel the tightening of Maraud's muscle. "I-I just mean… I have… scars. A-and my leg…"

"Oh, Hiccup," Maraud breathed. "You're beautiful."

Before Hiccup could really figure out what he was doing, Maraud had her prosthetic off. Her stump was out in the open for both of them to see. It was dark and wrinkled and Hiccup looked away, embarrassed.

"Hey," Maraud said. "Look at me." Hiccup looked up, afraid to see rejection in Maraud's eyes. "You—all of you—are beautiful. This leg," Maraud paused and pressed his lips against the very tip of it. Hiccup tried to jerk her leg away, but Maraud kept a firm yet gentle grip on her. "Beautiful. Where are your other scars?"

So Hiccup showed him, slowly. And with each new scar or burn mark, Maraud would do the same thing. He would kiss it, kiss her, and tell her she was beautiful. And the crazy thing was, Hiccup believed him.

That entire night the two newlyweds showed each other how much they loved and trusted each other, and the next morning, even thought Hiccup's body was sore, she was happy. She turned her bare body over to her side, facing Maraud.

He was lightly snoring, but Hiccup found it endearing. She traced her hand on the jaw and neck she had peppered with kisses just hours ago.

"Hey, Maraud," she said softly.

"Hmm?" he hummed sleepily back.

"I love you."

"I love you more," he grumbled before pulling her closer to his own body. "Now go back to sleep."

* * *

**So I wrote the chapter I had planned and realized how lame it was to end it without the wedding, so here it is, lol. Also, there hadn't been a lot of dialogue in the story so far, and I wanted more of** **that**.**Anyway… this is it! I hope y'all like the ending! I was practically dying while writing this! I was trying not to go over my T rating or whatever, but I'm no prude, so it was hard trying to find a balance. I wanted to show how easy their relationship is now, and I really hope I did that. The past couple of chapters have been mainly serious, and I just wanted to finish this story on a light, happy note. Let me know how I did? So,I was going to upload this chapter tomorrow, but then I realized this year was a leap year, so today is 365 days, but tomorrow just has the same date... And I was anxious to finish this anyway. **

**ALL DONE! MAN! THAT WAS DIFFICULT! Like, my fingers are hurting now because I actually wrote a lot today. Well friends, we're leaving this story with 259 favorites, 304 followers, we're in 4 communities, and as of this moment, we have 270 reviews! It's not the three hundred I had as a goal, but I can't believe this story even got THAT many! This journey has been a little irritating and painstaking at times, but thanks to all of y'all who've actually read and requested for more updates, it's finished! Thanks for helping me finish this, it's been great :)**


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